Eric Bledsoe waived by Portland Trail Blazers

The Portland Trail Blazers are parting ways with former Kentucky guard Eric Bledsoe.

Shams Charania of The Athletic is reporting that the Blazers will waive the 12-year NBA veteran ahead of his guaranteed contract date.

The Portland Trail Blazers plan to waive guard Eric Bledsoe ahead of his guarantee date approaching, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. Entering his 13th NBA season, several teams are expected to pursue Bledsoe as a free agent.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 6, 2022

Bledsoe’s contract was worth $19.3 million, which would have been guaranteed had he still been on the roster Sunday. Instead, the Blazers will only have to pay him $3.9 million upon release.

What will happen with the former Wildcat from here? Charania reports that several teams are interested in the 32-year-old guard out of Birmingham, AL as a free agent.

Bledsoe has spent time with the Los Angeles Clippers, Phoenix Suns, Milwaukee Bucks and New Orleans Pelicans over the course of his 12-year career. He was traded to Portland in February, but never registered a minute with the franchise after being ruled out for the remainder of the season with pain in his left Achilles tendon.

The 6-foot-1 guard has averaged 13.7 points, 4.7 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 1.4 steals over the course of his career. His most impressive stretch of play came in Phoenix, where Bledsoe averaged 18.8 points, 6.0 assists, 4.8 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game across five seasons. He averaged a career-high 21.1 points per contest in 2016-17.

Bledsoe averaged 11.3 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.4 steals per game during his lone season at Kentucky. He was selected No. 18 overall by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2010 NBA Draft.