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Benchwarmer
The Los Angeles Clippers addressed an acute need for more shooting Tuesday by acquiring guard J.J. Redick from Milwaukee and forward Jared Dudley from Phoenix in a three-team deal that sent guard Eric Bledsoe and swingman Caron Butler to the Suns. The Bucks will get two second-round picks in the trade.
Redick, a career 39 percent shooter from three-point range, will get a four-year contract worth $27 million in a sign-and-trade contract.
Yahoo! Sports first reported the trade.
New Clippers coach Doc Rivers has always liked Dudley, who averaged 10.9 points last season for the Suns and can play several positions. Dudley was also a favorite of new Clippers assistant Alvin Gentry, who was Dudley's head coach in Phoenix.
In Bledsoe, the rebuilding Suns, with new general manager Ryan McDonough and coach Jeff Hornacek, would seem to be expressing dissatisfaction with Goran Dragic, who got a four-year, $30 million free agent deal from Phoenix last summer. Bringing in Bledsoe also does not bode well for last year's first-round pick, guard Kendall Marshall.
Yet the Suns believe that Bledsoe and Dragic could play together next season, with Bledsoe spending some time off the ball at shooting guard.
The Clippers held onto the 24-year-old Bledsoe for the last year and a half despite having several suitors, wanting to hold onto his talents even after acquiring Chris Paul in 2011. They felt Bledsoe was one of the league's best backup point guards, certainly capable of starting for most teams.
But Bledsoe wanted to start and was certainly looking for a big contract when he became a free agent in two years. With Paul agreeing to a $107 million max deal this week, there would be no payday for Bledsoe forthcoming by the Clippers.
Milwaukee had little chance of re-signing Redick, whom it acquired at the trade deadline in February from Orlando in a deal that sent forward Tobias Harris to the Magic. The Bucks also lost forward Mike Dunleavy, Jr., on Monday, when the veteran reached a verbal agreement with Chicago on a two-year, $6 million deal.
Redick, a career 39 percent shooter from three-point range, will get a four-year contract worth $27 million in a sign-and-trade contract.
Yahoo! Sports first reported the trade.
New Clippers coach Doc Rivers has always liked Dudley, who averaged 10.9 points last season for the Suns and can play several positions. Dudley was also a favorite of new Clippers assistant Alvin Gentry, who was Dudley's head coach in Phoenix.
In Bledsoe, the rebuilding Suns, with new general manager Ryan McDonough and coach Jeff Hornacek, would seem to be expressing dissatisfaction with Goran Dragic, who got a four-year, $30 million free agent deal from Phoenix last summer. Bringing in Bledsoe also does not bode well for last year's first-round pick, guard Kendall Marshall.
Yet the Suns believe that Bledsoe and Dragic could play together next season, with Bledsoe spending some time off the ball at shooting guard.
The Clippers held onto the 24-year-old Bledsoe for the last year and a half despite having several suitors, wanting to hold onto his talents even after acquiring Chris Paul in 2011. They felt Bledsoe was one of the league's best backup point guards, certainly capable of starting for most teams.
But Bledsoe wanted to start and was certainly looking for a big contract when he became a free agent in two years. With Paul agreeing to a $107 million max deal this week, there would be no payday for Bledsoe forthcoming by the Clippers.
Milwaukee had little chance of re-signing Redick, whom it acquired at the trade deadline in February from Orlando in a deal that sent forward Tobias Harris to the Magic. The Bucks also lost forward Mike Dunleavy, Jr., on Monday, when the veteran reached a verbal agreement with Chicago on a two-year, $6 million deal.