PHOENIX -- The Phoenix Suns and point guard Eric Bledsoe have reached agreement on a five-year, $70 million contract, capping a long, sometimes-tense negotiation to keep him in the desert. The deal Wednesday is considerably more than the four-year, $48 million the Suns initially offered but well below the five-year, $80 million-plus maximum contract Bledsoes agent, Rich Paul, sought for the restricted free agent. The sides didnt budge in the negotiations until talks finally progressed in the last few days. "All summer, I knew that I really would be most comfortable coming back to Phoenix because of the great fans, my Suns teammates and our coaches," Bledsoe said in a statement released by the team. "I am very happy it was able to work out this way." Bledsoe faced an Oct. 1 deadline to sign a $3.7 million qualifying offer to play for the Suns this season, then become an unrestricted free agent. "I learned long ago that it doesnt matter how stormy the sea is as long as the ship comes in, and today we are thrilled that the ship has come in and Eric will remain a Sun for a long time," Suns president of basketball operations Lon Babby said in a statement. "He will be an integral part not only of our basketball team, but our Phoenix community." The Suns see Bledsoe as a critical part of their double point-guard system. He missed much of last season after undergoing his second surgery to repair a meniscus in his right knee. When Bledsoe teamed with fellow point guard Goran Dragic last year, the Suns won two-thirds of their games. But injuries kept the duo apart, most significantly the knee surgery. While the Suns coveted Bledsoes skills -- particularly his drives to the basket and defence -- as well as his obvious upside, they balked at giving the 24-year-old guard a max contract but felt highly enough of him to give a rich deal. "We are thrilled Eric Bledsoe will be in a Phoenix Suns uniform for years to come," general manager Ryan McDonough said. "Eric is one the most exciting and dynamic two-way players in the league. He played very well for us on both ends of the floor last season and we feel he is well on his way to establishing himself as one of the elite players in the NBA." Despite Bledsoes knee injury, the Suns won a surprising 48 games and just missed the playoffs. Bledsoe was the backup to Chris Paul with the Los Angeles Clippers before the Suns acquired him and Caron Butler in a three-team trade that sent journeyman forward Jared Dudley to the Clippers and a second-round draft pick to Milwaukee. Bledsoe had knee surgery in October of 2011, then again last January. Injuries limited him to 43 games last season, 40 as a starter. He averaged 17.7 points and 5.5 assists. "Lon, Ryan and the Suns have shown confidence in me, and I am looking to take that responsibility and help our team get better from last year and position ourselves to win an NBA championship," Bledsoe said. "Its why I came back to Phoenix. Dragic, carrying a bigger load when Bledsoe was out, had a breakout season, averaging 20.3 points and 5.9 assists, shooting 50.5 per cent from the field, 41 per cent from 3-point range. The Suns added a third point guard to the mix in the off-season, signing high-scoring free-agent Isaiah Thomas. Discount Air Max .C. -- Authorities say the brother of Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Roddy White has been shot and killed outside a South Carolina nightclub. Cheap Air Max Free Shipping . 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Cheap Air Max From China .C. - Steve Clifford isnt exactly singing his teams praises after the Bobcats won for the sixth time in seven games.NEW YORK -- Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling responded to the NBAs attempt to oust him on Tuesday, arguing that there is no basis for stripping him of his team because his racist statements were illegally recorded "during an inflamed lovers quarrel in which he was clearly distraught." According to the response, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press, Sterling says V. Stiviano recorded him without his knowledge and thus the recording was illegal under California law. He also said he could not have "wilfully" damaged the league because he did not know it would be made public. "A jealous rant to a lover never intended to be published cannot offend the NBA rules," Sterling said in the document, which was first reported by USA Today. Meanwhile, the attorney for Shelly Sterling confirmed that Donald Sterling has given her written permission to sell the team. According to a person who is in contact with a potential bidder, who spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the process publicly, the Clippers are seeking binding bids before next Tuesday -- the day NBA owners are scheduled to meet in New York and vote on whether to strip Sterling of the team. The league said in a statement Tuesday that if three-quarters of the 30 owners voted to sustain the charge, "the Sterlings interests in the Clippers will be terminated and the team will be sold." The NBA charged Donald Sterling with damaging the league and its merchandising partners, and the leagues constitution gave him until the end of Tuesday to respond. According to a basketball official familiar with the proceedings, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss Sterling, the NBA has scheduled a call of its executive committee for 3 p.m. EDT on Wednesday. Shelly Sterling submitted her own separate response to the NBAs charges Tuesday that included a "vigorous defence of the attempt by the NBA to blame her for doing nothing wrong," according to a person with knowledge of the proceedings. The individual wasnt authorized to speak publicly about the response. In his response, Donald Sterling saays that next weeks hearing cannot be fair because the owners have already made up their minds, quoting 10 teams who commented on Twitter or elsewhere that they supported the seizure of the team.dddddddddddd An AP survey on the day Commissioner Adam Silver announced Sterlings lifetime ban found that half of the teams supported it and no owner was against it. "These procedings will be a spectacle meant to mollify the popular opinion, not a fair and impartial hearing: the outcome of these procedings became a foregone conclusion weeks ago," the response states. The response also notes the disparity between his lifetime ban and $2.5 million fine and previous NBA punishments, including the $100,000 fine levied on Kobe Bryant when he was caught referring to a referee by a homosexual slur, and the 72-game suspension of Ron Artest for punching a fan. The NBA said Sterling is in violation because his racist comments were harmful to the league and its business partners, including the players. Sterlings response argues that because his comments came in the privacy of his girlfriends living room he cannot be considered "taking a position" that damaged the NBA, as required under the league constitution. "Mr. Sterling was not conducting the sport of professional basketball when he was arguing with Ms. Stiviano in her living room," the response says. "Not even the Commissioner alleges that Mr. Sterling intended to harm the NBA with his comment. Nor could he. This was an argument between a jealous man and the woman he loved that should never have left the privacy of his living room." Sterling also noted his history of supporting racial diversity, including five black head coaches and a black general manager, Elgin Baylor, who held the job for 22 years. Baylor eventually unsuccessfully sued Sterling, accusing him of racist behaviour. It also notes that he was due to receive his second lifetime achievement award from the NAACP before the recording of his comments was leaked. The response claims that it would cost Sterling $300 million to $500 million in capital gains taxes if he is forced to sell now rather than pass the team to his heirs. ' ' '