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As has been conjectured for months, the Phoenix Suns and Eric Bledsoe were unable to come to terms on a contract extension, per Paul Coro of azcentral.com.
There was no word of the details of the talks, but speculation is that Bledsoe's camp wanted starter money while the Suns would have been basing their offer on a combination of predictions and expectations rather than past performance.
Bledsoe, who scored 22 points with 7 rebounds and 6 assists in the opener for the Suns, would have made almost twice Dragic's salary next season if the Suns would have paid Bledsoe money similar to Ty Lawson or Stephen Curry for example.
Bledsoe now will be a restricted free agent next summer, free to receive offers from any other team with the cap room to sign him. The Suns will have the right to match the offer though, and no restricted free agent has been signed away from his team against their wishes to date.