Bledsoe is a very valuable young guard who many believe will be a star PG.
What is this based upon, I wonder? Bledsoe is a pretty poor shooter, and his assist rate is pretty bad.
For what it's worth, Bledsoe's advanced stats are pretty good this season, and he has been extremely productive per-minute coming off the bench. Less so when he was playing as the starter.
Bledsoe's always shown flashes with his speed, athleticism, and finishing ability.
I think Bledsoe is a classic example of a guy who tantalizes because he could be really good if he makes the leap to starter -- if he can do for 35-36 minutes a night what he now does now in short shifts off the bench -- and he can flesh out some of the less developed areas of his game (shooting, passing).
If what he is now is more or less all he's going to be, though, he's just an okay player who gives you a highlight reel play now and then.
The reason the Clips should want to trade him now is that he has one year left on his deal. He has value to a team that might look to start him at either of the guard spots for the rest of the season and beyond that to get a real gauge of his value long term before giving him a deal.
If the Clips keep him until his rookie deal expires, they'll have to gamble by giving him the kind of contract he'll probably want, or they'll have to let him go for nothing. Or maybe his stock will drop a lot over the next season or so. In any case, they'll have missed the opportunity to sell high.