No, Stan Van Gundy will certainly not be trading Reggie Jackson for Eric Bledsoe
While the Phoenix Suns have been busy winning four of their last five games, Eric Bledsoe is still sitting at home, waiting for them to trade him after he tweeted on Oct. 23, “I Don’t wanna be here.”
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As fellow University of Kentucky product and current Washington Wizards point guard John Wall described it to NBC Sports Washington, “The team is getting younger and younger and he wants to get out of there and get to a team where he can make the playoffs. I got the opportunity to be in the playoffs after my fourth year. They kind of adjusted for me while he had to keep going through it.”
In the meantime, the Suns are trying to drum up a market for Bledsoe after a few early phone calls from the Milwaukee Bucks, Denver Nuggets and New York Knicks didn’t prove worthwhile. All was quiet on that front until trustworthy New York Times scribe Marc Stein added another team to the mix:
League sources say Detroit should be added to the list of teams showing interest in Eric Bledsoe, but any deal would surely depend (CONT')
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) November 2, 2017
But any Bledsoe-to-Detroit deal would likely depend on what the Pistons would attach to Reggie Jackson to sell the Suns on doing such a swap
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) November 2, 2017
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski chimed in, and now two of the NBA’s top news-breakers were indicating the wheels were turning on a possible Bledsoe for Detroit Pistons point guard Reggie Jackson swap:
The Suns prefer a third team to take on Reggie Jackson in any potential Eric Bledsoe deal with the Pistons, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 2, 2017
A Bledsoe for Jackson deal would be noteworthy, what with their similar histories as backups to superstars Chris Paul and Russell Westbrook on the Los Angeles Clippers and Oklahoma City Thunder, respectively. Both wanted off championship-contending teams in pursuit of a starting role, and both have struggled to find their way. I’m not sure either is the answer for Phoenix or Detroit, but hey, a change of scenery can sometimes do wonders for a talented 27-year-old still in search of an identity.
But such a swap was squashed by none other than Pistons coach and team president Stan Van Gundy:
Stan Van Gundy says he called Reggie Jackson after practice yesterday to dispel a rumor, “We’re not trading you for Eric Bledsoe.” #pistons
— Johnny Kane (@JohnnyKaneFSD) November 3, 2017
Here is Van Gundy in full from Friday’s shootaround, via The Detroit News:
“It was crazy yesterday. I left practice yesterday and there’s a rumor out on Reggie and Bledsoe so I had to get home and call Reggie and say we’re not trading you for Bledsoe. I don’t usually address all of them but it’s early in the (season). You can’t address all of them at the trade deadline, but I felt the need to address this.”
I guess that settles that. Jackson can rest easy, knowing that his solid start to a season in which the Pistons own a 5-3 record and appear playoff-bound through two weeks won’t be disrupted by a trade. At least not this one. (The three years and $51 million left on his contract are still not entirely safe.)
Meanwhile, Bledsoe is still waiting at home while the Suns play in Madison Square Garden on Friday. And don’t be surprised when the next rumor comes to light as a reminder that, yes, there is still a talented player on the market, in hopes someone will offer something than a bad contract for him.
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Ben Rohrbach is a contributor for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at rohrbach_ben@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @brohrbach
