Eric Bledsoe participated in Saturday night’s NBA All-Star Slam Dunk Contest. For the up-and-coming third-year point guard, it might be one of the final appearances he makes in Clippers uniform. With the trade deadline looming, Bledsoe’s value has increased with several teams attempting to land him in a trade.
Marc Stein of ESPN reported Saturday night that the Jazz were discussing the possibility of swapping veteran forward Paul Millsap for Bledsoe. Earlier on Saturday, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported that Bledsoe could end up in Boston along with DeAndre Jordan if Kevin Garnett were to waive his no-trade clause.
Utah is looking for a point guard and will likely try to deal either Millsap or Al Jefferson, both of whom have expiring contracts. The 6-foot-8 Millsap is averaging 15 points and more than seven rebounds per game, and would provide a lift to the Los Angeles frontcourt. However, this proposal still has holes to be filled before players start relocating, as Stein points out.
“The Clippers would have to add at least one player to a Millsap deal to make the salary-cap math work if talks progressed to a serious level,” he writes. “And sources say L.A.’s front office remains wary of breaking up or shaking up its current roster, which generated a franchise-record 17 consecutive wins in January and is finally back to full strength with the recent returns of [Chris] Paul, [Blake] Griffin, [Chauncey] Billups, Jamal Crawford and Grant Hill from injury.”
Bledsoe, 23, is averaging 9.6 points and 3.8 assists per game for the Pacific Division-leading Clippers.
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