Sources: Eric Bledsoe reaches agreement on $70M deal with Suns
Restricted free-agent guard Eric Bledsoe has reached agreement on a five-year, $70 million contract extension with the Phoenix Suns, league sources told Yahoo Sports.
The deal will include no player options, and the $70 million will be fully guaranteed, a source said.
Bledsoe and his agent Rich Paul arrived in Phoenix on Wednesday to meet with Suns management and try to clear the final hurdles toward a new contract, league sources told Yahoo Sports.
Communication between Bledsoe and the Suns has been non-existent through a summer stalemate in extension talks and Wednesday's visit with Suns executives was a significant development in the final thawing needed to close on a new deal.
Bledsoe hadn't been back in Phoenix since the Suns' season ended in April.
Discussions between Suns general manager Ryan McDonough and Bledsoe's representatives with Klutch Sports gathered momentum this week, league sources said.
Bledsoe had failed to find a maximum contract offer on the restricted free-agency market, and his reps spent most of the summer unwilling to negotiate off the $12 million annual salary the Suns had offered in July.
Minnesota tried to engage the Suns in sign-and-trade talks for Bledsoe in the past week, but those never gained traction.
Paul had been threatening to have his client sign a $3.7 million qualifying offer that would allow Bledsoe to become an unrestricted free agent after the season.
Bledsoe, 24, averaged 17.7 points and 5.5 assists for the Suns a year ago. He missed half the season with knee surgery to repair a meniscus injury, the second such surgery of his career. Phoenix acquired Bledsoe from the Los Angeles Clippers in a trade in the summer of 2013. To fortify for Bledsoe's possible departure, the Suns signed free agent Isaiah Thomas and drafted Syracuse's Tyler Ennis.
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