Whatever the expectation was for Eric Bledsoe this season in New Orleans, it’s almost certain he failed to live up to it. Brought in from Milwaukee as part of the Jrue Holiday trade, Bledsoe struggled offensively, took a big step backward defensively and was an X-factor — often in a number of bad ways — for the Pelicans this season.
Now, the franchise must determine whether Bledsoe simply had a down year or if this is indicative of his future and evaluate what the price of trading him will be.
Stat of the Season
6.6.
The Pelicans’ core, depending on how the summer plays out, would likely be Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram and Lonzo Ball. Overall this season, that trio had a net rating of plus-4.3. Remove the minutes spent alongside Bledsoe and that rating jumps to plus-6.6.
Notable Exit Interview Quote
On how he grades his season…
“It was up and down. I can’t complain. It was up and down. I’m blessed to be able to do what I want to do each and every night and that’s compete at a high level. It was up and down. I’d give it probably a C-.”
Overview
Bledsoe was not a seamless fit for this Pelicans roster, especially offensively. Playing next to Ingram and Williamson and alongside Ball, who developed into a respectable 3-point shooter, Bledsoe needed to knock down open shots, often from beyond the arc.
In Milwaukee last season, only 13.3% of his offensive possession ended in spot-up opportunities. In New Orleans, that figure jumped to 33.7%, easily the most common play type. Ironically, his efficiency in those possessions rose, but he still was only in the 56th percentile overall and the sheer volume of spot-up chances meant he needed to be more efficient.
Most notably, though, it was the open looks that Bledsoe struggled with and eventually turned down at the end of the season that proved most costly to the Pelicans’ offense. On open looks, he shot 34.4% from the 3-point line. On wide-open looks, he shot 35.4%. Those looks accounted for 338 of his 354 attempts from beyond the arc this year.
The area where Bledsoe was not expected to struggle was on defense. After a first-team All-Defense selection in 2018-19 and a second-team selection in 2019-20, Bledsoe was nowhere close to that level in 2020-21. Synergy ranked Bledsoe as a 24th percentile defender overall. His defensive rating of 114.8 was second-worst on the team.
After playing on a title contender for multiple seasons and earning a hefty contract, Bledsoe spent most of 2021 looking like the player who once tweeted “I don’t wanna be here” in Phoenix years ago.
Outlook
In hindsight one has to wonder how many of the picks and pick swaps Milwaukee sent to New Orleans was to take on Bledsoe’s contract. He was not a positive asset and now the Pelicans need to determine how to handle him.
Despite all of Bledsoe’s struggles, Stan Van Gundy showed no signs of benching him, though injuries to guards throughout the season limited how much he could consider that. The franchise will put a focus on 3-point shooting this offseason, and Bledsoe is not a shooter.
But the franchise also didn’t show a willingness during the season to include draft picks to unload Bledsoe’s contract, which will be necessary. How it handles Bledsoe moving forward will determine how serious the team is about winning in its future.