Yesterday, local sportscaster Jude LaCava went on FoxSports 910 radio, "The Drive", and told the world that the Phoenix Suns have now hung out the "Open for Business" sign on Eric Bledsoe's locker.

"I'll tell you this, and I think this is the first time it's reported," Jude LaCava said on Tuesday, "I do believe in my NBA sources. You can take this to the bank, so to speak, the Suns are now discussing trade possibilities for Eric Bledsoe." "That's the new chapter to this and I wouldn't back off of that information. I think it's 100% correct." --LaCava on FoxSports910 "The Drive"

Any objective person would agree with LaCava that the Suns have been open to trade possibilities on Eric Bledsoe since the day he was acquired. In fact, the Suns should have been open to trade possibilities on the entire roster in that time as well.

When you are a rebuilding team, you need to keep building. You can't ever sit tight, overpay to keep and think you're going to continue to improve.

"I think it's safe to say 'open for business'," LaCava said. "The decision makers, [managing partner Robert] Sarver and [PBO Lon] Babby and hopefully Ryan McDonough, they are open to that possibility. It's got to be right. It's got to be the right return in what they are looking for. "It's to the point that if they can accommodate Bledsoe and get something they want in return, trade possibilities are very, very real and they have been discussed." --LaCava on FoxSports910 "The Drive"

The most important thing here is that the Suns need to "trade up" with Bledsoe. There's no dumping him for prospects and draft picks. The Suns still have Bogdan Bogdanovic waiting overseas, four first rounders not old enough to drink alcohol on the roster and four more first round picks in the next two years coming to the team. The Suns don't need future draft picks.

What the Suns do need is a power forward around whom to build. Is that a player like Paul Millsap? Considering he's only got one year left on his contract, I'd say no. At least, as the centerpiece.

So who? I have no idea.

LaCava rightly says that this is still a lottery team. The Suns need to improve, not regress. Losing Bledsoe without getting equal or better value in return would be a step back, and the Suns can't afford to do that. Not now. If the Suns can't find something better, they will stay with Bledsoe even if it's on the qualifying offer.

Where the conversation derailed is when LaCava absolved Ryan McDonough of any wrongdoing in the strained relationship with Bledsoe, pinning all problems on incumbents Robert Sarver and Lon Babby.

"That's where the relationship went south in the early weeks last year," LaCava said. "The guys at the top made a decision that we're not going to extend you right away, we want to see you play first. And I think that was a bit of an affront, at least from Eric Bledsoe's perspective. And I don't think it ever recovered after that." --LaCava on FoxSports910 "The Drive"

Rumors went around to that effect, I guess, if you considered Bledsoe a max player last summer. Remember, it was Bledsoe who showed no sign of taking a discount off his desired price. Rumors floated that Bledsoe wanted max money a year ago, and that the Suns - as LaCava said - wanted to see him play first. The Suns reportedly offered something south of 8 figures per year (under $10 million), but Bledsoe wouldn't bite.

Was that an affront to Bledsoe? Maybe. Should it have been? No. Bledsoe had never, ever played full time as a point guard since high school. He was entering his fourth year with a career scoring average under 8 points per game. Is that a max player? No.

But LaCava felt that the Suns missed a golden opportunity there.

"If you have a plan, you have to execute that plan. If you're going to go after a particular player in a trade or free agency, you have to close and commit. I'm not blaming one side or the other." --LaCava on FoxSports910 "The Drive"

This final exchange was the worst, at least to me.

Question from radio jockey: If Ryan McDonough was able to negotiate unilaterally with Eric Bledsoe, do you think he would already be re-signed by the Suns? "Yes I do," LaCava responded without hesitation. "I think if Ryan had his way, it would have been done last fall. That's just a hunch. The three greatest assets to this organization right now are Ryan McDonough, Jeff Hornacek and Goran Dragic. I do believe that in a perfect world that Ryan McDonough would have found a way to get this done last fall." --LaCava on FoxSports910 "The Drive"

Sure the Suns relationship with Bledsoe is not a great one. Yet, who exactly is to blame here?

The Suns rightly didn't want to commit to the max last fall to Bledsoe. That's a smart decision.

The Suns treated Bledsoe with respect when he got hurt, never once pushing him to return sooner than he wanted to return. Bledsoe missed half the season while the Suns treaded water on the edge of a playoff berth.

And then when free agency started, the Suns wanted to get a deal done but it's been nothing but silence since a $12-million-per-year offer was put on the table. Bledsoe still wants max, and thinks a half-year of starting is all he needed to prove it.

Look, if this relationship doesn't work out then that's a shame. It's bad for Bledsoe, and bad for the Suns.

Bledsoe will be hard-pressed to find a better place in the NBA than running Hornacek's system that helped him succeed. He will be hard-pressed being the only playmaker in a traditional offense.

The Suns, on the other hand, will be a much worse team without Bledsoe. A starting back court of Thomas and Dragic is lot less scary than Bledsoe and Dragic, with Thomas off the bench.

If the Suns make a trade, it will be to trade up. Otherwise, we might just see one more year of Bledsoe followed by a teeth-gnashing, fingernail-biting summer of both Dragic and Bledsoe on the open market in July.