The NBA has fined disgruntled Phoenix guard Eric Bledsoe $10,000 for his controversial tweet from last month, Suns general manager Ryan McDonough told azcentral.com.
The NBA had not announced the fine as of Monday morning. McDonough confirmed the fine to azcentral.com on Sunday but declined to comment further.
Bledsoe has been away from the Suns since being sent home by McDonough on Oct. 23 after tweeting "I don't wanna be here" a day earlier. McDonough announced at the time that Bledsoe "won't be with us going forward," and said he didn't believe Bledsoe's explanation that he was tweeting about wanting to leave a hair salon.
Suns veteran forward Jared Dudley told azcentral.com that he understands why the NBA would punish Bledsoe for the tweet.
"The league doesn't want to set a precedent of players going off on social media," Dudley said. "If you ask [Bledsoe], he probably regrets doing that. He probably would have done something in a different manner.
"I just think in general you can't even demand a trade when you're doing interviews. Just keep it more in house."
McDonough reiterated last week that the Suns have no timetable for a potential trade involving Bledsoe. The Suns could decide to wait until after Dec. 15, when free agents from this past offseason become eligible to be traded.
Bledsoe previously had met with Suns owner Robert Sarver and McDonough during the preseason and requested a trade, sources told ESPN. Bledsoe was told by management, according to sources, that the team had underperformed ever since he was given starting point guard responsibilities.
The Suns host the Brooklyn Nets on Monday in their eighth game under interim coach Jay Triano, who replaced the fired Earl Watson last month. Phoenix is 4-3 this season without Bledsoe and Watson.
