Suns GM McDonough blasts Bledsoe for lack of leadership

The relationship between Phoenix Suns point guard Eric Bledsoe and general manager Ryan McDonough is not getting better.

On Sunday, following a 0-3 start and a pair of historic losses, Bledsoe tweeted the following:

That got a lot of attention in the NBA universe.

Monday morning Bledsoe arrived at the Phoenix shoot-around prior to the evening matchup with the Sacramento Kings. He was sent home, and all signs seem to point to Bled having played his last game in a Suns uniform.

Then in a radio interview with Arizona Sports 98.7 on Tuesday, McDonough made it abundantly clear that he thinks Bledsoe’s leadership skills leave plenty to be desired.

"I think Eric's a good person, McDonough said. I think he's unfortunately gotten some bad advice and is listening to the wrong people. I think generally, any time you sign a contract, it doesn't only work one way. It works both ways, and for a guy with years on his contract to say or intimate he didn't want to be here anymore, I didn't find that to be appropriate, and I think if he says he wants to be a leader, that's the opposite of what a leader does and the opposite of what leadership is. So I think that's all I'm going to say about that."

So that’s all he’s going to say about that. But he said more. McDonough thinks that the bad advice he referenced is coming from Bledsoe’s agent, Rich Paul, among others.

"I think, just my opinion, the shift comes from contractual demands made by his representatives," McDonough said, "and that's what I was referring to when I said I think he got bad advice."

To put it lightly, it has been a tumultuous start to the 50th season in Phoenix Suns history. Phoenix picked up its first win of the season on Tuesday with a 117-115 home win over the Sacramento Kings. Tonight the new-look Suns welcome the Utah Jazz to Talking Stick Resort Arena. It appears the only question left in the Eric Bledsoe saga is where he will land and what his value will command in return. Stay tuned.