:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/49938783/usa-today-8832728.0.jpg)
The latest speculation of NBA offseason rumors include the likes of former Kentucky stars Eric Bledsoe and Brandon Knight.
The two have spent the last season and a half as teammates for the Phoenix Suns, though now the team is looking to separate them. Rumors continue to spread that Phoenix is looking to deal Bledsoe and/or Knight by the beginning of next season.
News arose earlier today that Phoenix had already offered Bledsoe and the 13th pick to Utah in exchange for Gordon Hayward, but the Jazz declined.
The growing sense in league circles is that the Suns are determined to move either Bledsoe or Brandon Knight before the start of next season
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) June 23, 2016
Sources say Phoenix, in its failed trade pitch to convince Utah to surrender Gordon Hayward, tried to pair Eric Bledsoe with a lottery pick
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) June 23, 2016
With so many talented guards already on the roster, it is an understandable decision to want to move one for a chance to get a more complete roster.
But then things just got real wacky.
More speculation has been floating around claiming that the Suns are more than likely going to take Providence point guard Kris Dunn with the fourth overall pick if he's still there. They've also looked into moving up to No. 3 to secure Dunn with Ben Simmons and Brandon Ingram locks for the top two.
Not only is Phoenix pushing hard to get Dunn, but are doing so with a plan of then shipping Bledsoe elsewhere, per Sean Deveney of Sporting News.
This would be a highly questionable decision, to say the least
Bledsoe and Knight were among the league's elite backcourts for the early part of last season. Both were averaging over 20 points per game, and often times both putting up ridiculous numbers.
However, when Bledsoe tore his meniscus and Knight began struggling with various injuries, Devin Booker then took over. That and the potential of adding Dunn obviously causes a logjam, so someone would need to go.
I can understand the idea of trading Bledsoe, and then taking somebody like Marquese Chriss at four.
But Dunn, even at the peak of his career, I doubt will ever touch the numbers that Bledsoe does when healthy. So essentially swapping Bledsoe for Dunn is such a dubious move to make.
Of course, everything now is simply just speculation. Still, it sounds like the four-man Wildcat squad of Knight, Booker, Knight and Archie Goodwin won't last much longer.