The Portland Trail Blazers will reportedly make some room in their backcourt by parting ways with veteran point guard Eric Bledsoe. The team will make a move in the coming days in order to avoid being on the hook for his $19.375 million salary in 2022-23.
According to The Athletic‘s Shams Charania, Bledsoe won’t have trouble finding a new landing spot when he hits the free-agent market as several teams are already interested in his services.
This recent development means that Bledsoe will leave Portland without ever actually suiting up for the Trail Blazers. He joined the franchise in February as part of the trade that sent Norman Powell and Robert Covington to the LA Clippers. But at that point, the Blazers were already in tanking mode and preferred to give the spotlight to their younger players.
In the first part of the 2021-22 NBA season, Bledsoe played 54 games with the Clippers and averaged 9.9 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game. This was his worst outing since his third year as a pro, which curiously was also with the Clippers.
Eric Bledsoe, the 18th overall pick in 2010, also played with the Phoenix Suns, the Milwaukee Bucks, and the New Orleans Pelicans while in the NBA. His career stats include 13.7 points, 3.9 boards, and 4.7 assists per game. Bledsoe has two NBA All-Defensive nods on his resume.
