Report: Avery Bradley "loves Boston" and is expected back

[Spicoli]

I personally hope Avery "I've got to get mine" Bradley walks. He's a selfish ball player, clearly out to establish his own numbers. Every time the ball touches his hands he's putting a shot up. I always thought Bayless was a selfish player but even Bayless is a more willing passer than Bradley. Bradley would easily put up 20-25 shots a night if given the opportunity, which is absurd considering his skill level. Hopefully he goes and puts up as many shots as he desires, on some other team.

[MBunge]

It took Goran Dragic and Mike Conley 6 seasons to average what Bradley is in his 4th.

He's not nearly as skilled as either.

Also, I'd say SG is a somewhat weak position.  Not that many stars at the position anymore.  Lots and lots of decent to slightly above average players.

Which is kind of the problem for Avery -- he's a nice enough player, but there's not much that he does that is terribly hard to replace.

Avery's production is better in most respects than Aaron Aflalo's at either the same age or same # of years in the league.  Now, I'd say that Aflalo is that kind of "nice enough player" but he's been more highly rated than that by some around here.

Mike

[Neurotic Guy]

I think it should go without saying that overpaying AB is not a good idea.  Not sure exactly what overpaying for him is, but I think 5-6 million sounds like the right neighborhood -- maybe a 4-year deal ending in the 7M area.   

Bradley has a decent chance to become one of those guys we regret losing if we lose him.  Tony Allen, Chauncey Billups, Bruce Bowen...   His injury history should give pause to any GM, so I do think the C's should be able to bring him back at good value.

A few of things to think about before giving up on AB:
1. He is only 6 months older than Kelly Olynik.
2. He works hard.
3. His shot has improved (still a ways to go with consistency).
4. I think he is being coached to shoot frequently which is a result of the team he is on currently, and also as an attempt  to improve his shot confidence and consistency.
5. His role has constantly been in flux.  His role has shifted numerous times since his arrival and he has yet to find his best role.

[LooseCannon]

I think it should go without saying that overpaying AB is not a good idea.  Not sure exactly what overpaying for him is, but I think 5-6 million sounds like the right neighborhood -- maybe a 4-year deal ending in the 7M area.   

Arguably, overpaying Bradley somewhat is a better option than letting him walk for nothing.

[BballTim]

Oh how times change...

I remember a year or so ago Bradley was rumored in a deal that would of brought Cousins to Boston and there were a large group of people against the deal touting Bradley as an "elite" prospect.

Easy to say now "yeah, well whoever said that was dumb."

  You could make a similar claim about anyone who gave credence to that rumor.

[crimson_stallion]

All the more reason to try and trade Green this summer.


More I think about it, more I like the idea of Green + two 1sts for Monroe.

depends on what the two firsts are.  I mean if it is 18 (or whatever) and the Clippers pick, sure (though I don't think Detroit does that).  If it is like 6 and a future pick, then Boston won't do that.

Yeah, I'm thinking the BRK pick and the LAC pick.  I'd offer a S+T of Bradley, too.  I think Detroit would consider it if they aren't getting many high level offers for Monroe.


Adding Bradley and Green on the wing, moving Smith to PF, giving Drummond full starter minutes, and adding two 1st round picks over two years for support, would really help set that Detroit team on a right track.  Much more balanced lineup.

For the Celtics, Monroe is the type of guy they should be willing to take a little risk on.  He's a young center with a history of production who might take another leap forward in a different situation playing at the 5 spot full time.  He's got a ton of skill for a guy with his size.  He's not a great defender at the moment, but I think he can be more than serviceable.  He'll want a sizable contract, but I think there's a good chance he's worth it.

Trading for a defensive center like Asik is a safer option for the Celtics, and wouldn't cost as many assets or as much $$.  But the best way to get back to contender status is to acquire talent.  Monroe is an All-Star caliber talent at a position that's pretty thin on All-Star talent.  Yeah, he's got flaws, but that's why he's potentially available.

Sully is better than Monroe , Monroe isn't a true center. We need a long rim protector/rebounder next to Sully , not another Sully type . Maybe if Monroe goes to a 3rd team and we get someone like Asik or Bogut back, otherwise I am not interested .

Bogut is an injury waiting to happen and Monroe is SO MUCH better than Asik.  Monroe has the talent to be a potential future All-Star, while Asik is barely talented enough to be a starter on a lot of teams.

Also Monroe absolutely is a better player than Sully.  He doesn't average 5 fouls per 36 minutes, he doesn't attempt 3.5 3PT per game (and hit them at 25%), he doesn't risk getting pulled from games by piling up an excessing number of flagrant fouls, he has good size for either the 4 or the 5 spot (6'11", 255lb, 7'2" wingspan) and he doesn't look winded when he's on the court for more than 25 minutes per night.

I like a lot of things about Sully, but there are also a number of things that leave me feeling pretty discontent about his potential. 

* His poor conditioning is a concern because there have been a lot of talented players in the past who have had their NBA careers derailed because they let themselves go physically.  Guys like Shawn Kemp, Vin Baker are just a couple of such examples.  Great talent is worth only so much if the player who wields it can only play 28 effective minutes a game.

* His attitude still concerns me.  He comes across to me as a guy who has a lot of passion.  This is a benefit when it comes to his hustle and effort, but it can come as a fault when comes to his often overly aggressive nature.  The fact that he still gets into constant foul trouble in his second season as a pro combined with the fact that he was one flagrant foul from a suspension, combined with the 'domestic violence' scenario all hint to me that Sully can be somewhat of an emotional loose canon.  All the talent in the world is of no consequence if the guy is going to have his minutes limited by suspensions and foul trouble. 

* His inconsistency worries me a lot.  Sully is a 'Jekyl and Hyde' type of player in that he can go out and have three 20/10 games in a row, then come out and have 7 or 8 7 point / 5 rebound  games.  I can only really think of one point in this season where he put up consistent numbers over a long stretch of games (shortly after he apparently got told off by his father for beng lazy) and in that stretch he played like a beast for about 6 straight games.  Then after that he dissapeared for about a month.  Sure he's still young but it's his second season now and he still cannot provide consistent production over the course of a season, and that worries me a bit.

* Size vs athleticism is a bit of a concern.  Sully is quite lacking in both quickness changing directions, lateral quickness and end-to-end footspeed.  He could get away with a lack of quickness if he had the size to overpower opponents, but he doesn't.  At 6'9" in shoes (and with a 7'1" wingspan) Sully has physical size which is servicable, but certainly not the type of size that gives him an advantage over the majority of opponents.  When you combine his pretty average size at the PF spot with his below average mobility, this limits his ability to dominate an opponent 1 on 1.  Most of Sully's points this season seem to have come from either putbacks (off offensive rebounds) or jumpshots.  He struggles to finish against length in the paint, so he's not the type of guy you can just feed the ball to in the paint and let him go to work.  To overcome his lack of mobility you need to put him at center, but if you do that he gets absolutely slaughtered by bigger and longer opponents.

* Shot Selection is another problem.  Put simply, Sully takes way too many three's at way too many bad times.  People will argue that he shoots a lot of three's based purely on the coach's request.  That may be true, but just because the coach tells you to take more shots, doesn't mean you should fire up bad shots without any type of conscience.  I've seen Sully fire up way too many contested threes, threes early in the shot clock, fadeaway off-balance shots in the post (with a defender all over him), etc.  It frustrates the hell out of me.  It makes me cringe in fear every time Sully touches the ball outside of the paint.  To say I dislike this side of his game would be a MAJOR understatement.

Now on paper, statistically, Sully is a beast.  Everybody is quick to look at his per-36 minutes and rave about how his All-Star like per minute production...but they fail to consider that for any of that to mean anything he needs to actually be able to PLAY 36 minutes on a consistent basis.  Until he can do that, you aren't going to see Sully become the 18/10 machine that most seem believe he can be.  For that to happen his conditioning and his discipline on defense (i.e. not picking up tons of fouls) need to improve dramatically.

Do I hate Sully as a player?  Not a at all, I think he has an incredibly high IQ on both ends of the floor (though I feel he sometimes doesn't use it) and has a very well polished skill set.  Do I feel he will ever get much better than he is now?  Not really.  I think the Sully you see now is the final Sully.

Monroe on the other hand is another story.  Since his sophmore season he's never averaged less than 15/9/2, never averaged less than 3 offensive rebounds per game, never shot under 48% from the field, never averaged less than 31 minutes per game.  At 23 years of age his only one year older than Sully, yet for the past three seasons he's been been putting up the kind of numbers we all hope Sully can ONE DAY produce for us.  He isn't a shotblocker (neither is Sully) but at least he has the size and length to defend and shoot over opposing bigs.

It's fair to argue that Sully may one day be better than Monroe (though this is pure speculation) but right now Moroe is absolutely and without question an upgrade over Sully.  I don't know if there is a single non-Celtics fan out there who would say otherwise.

[crimson_stallion]

I personally hope Avery "I've got to get mine" Bradley walks. He's a selfish ball player, clearly out to establish his own numbers. Every time the ball touches his hands he's putting a shot up. I always thought Bayless was a selfish player but even Bayless is a more willing passer than Bradley. Bradley would easily put up 20-25 shots a night if given the opportunity, which is absurd considering his skill level. Hopefully he goes and puts up as many shots as he desires, on some other team.

Right now AB is averaging 15 PPG in 31 MPG via:

* 12.2 two-point FG Per Game @ 45.3%
* 3.3 three-point FG Per Game @ 39.4%
* 2.2 free-throw attemps Per Game @ 80.2%

AB ranks 16th among all NBA guards in FG%.  This ranks him above Jeff Teague, Russel Westbrook, Eric Gordon, Rodney Stuckey, Tyreke Evans, Nick Young, Gerald Henderson, Dion Waiters, John Wall, Ty Lawson, Kevin Martin, Kyrie Irving, DeMar Derozan, Ramon Sessions, Damian Lillard, Kyle Lowry, Victor Oladipo, Bradley Beal, Jamal Crawford, JR Smith, Gordon Hayward, Vince Carter and Michael Carter-Williams.

He also ranks 6th among guards in 3PT%.  This ranks him above Vince Carter, JR Smith, Damian Lillard, Wesley Matthews, Eric Gordon, Aaron Brooks, Kevin Martin, Nick Young, Mario Chalmers, Kyle Lowry, Kawhi Leonard, Greivis Vasquez, Nate Robinson, Steve Blake, Darren Collison, Ray Allen, Courtney Lee, OJ Mayo, Mo Williams, Chris Paul, Dion Waiters, Deron Williams, James Harden, George Hill, Tim Hardaway Jr, Jamal Crawford, Mike Conley, Kyrie Irving, Jerryd Bayless, Ty Lawson, John Wall, Kirk Heinrich, Isiah Thomas, Manu Ginobilli, Jameer Nelson, Jarrett Jack, Brandon Jennings, Kemba Walker, Monta Ellis and Jeff Teague.

He also ranks 29th among guards in FT percentage (80.2%).

I would also like to add that Avery Bradley currently ranks:

* 8th among all NBA guards in scoring (at 14.9 PPG)
* 7th among all NBA guards in rebounding (3.8 per game)
* 3rd among all NBA guards who have played > 30 MPG in fewest turnovers (1.6 per game)

The only guards who rank above AB in scoring are:

Stephen Curry - 24 PPG
Kyrie Irving - 20.8 PPG
Goran Dragic - 20.3 PPG
Monta Ellis - 19 PPG
Dwyne Wade - 19 PPG
Jamal Crawford - 18.6 PPG
Brandon Knight - 17.9 PPG
Eric Bledsoe - 17.7 PPG
Avery Bradley - 14.9 PPG

Among that list of 9 players Bradley ranks:

6th in FG%
3rd in 3PT%
5th in FT%
4th in Rebounds
1th in fewest turnovers


So looking at Bradleys rankings among NBA guards this season in these various offensive categories,  I would really like for you to provide me with some type of evidence which indicates Bradley is (as you suggest) nothing but a chucker who is totally hell-bent on forcing shots he can't effectively make.

I will eagerly await your response. 

P.s.

Considering AB's age, his potential (proven by the fact is that he's improved DRAMATICALLY on the offensive end of the court from last season to this season), his athleticism, his positive attitude and his history as a former All-Defense selection...I would say the only thing that may hold opposing teams back from offering him a $10M/year salary is his injury history.  That never stopped the Hornets from signing Eric Gordon to a max contract though, did it?  If Bradley ends up playing for any less than $8M/year next season I will be very, very surprised.

[crimson_stallion]

All the more reason to try and trade Green this summer.


More I think about it, more I like the idea of Green + two 1sts for Monroe.

I would do this if we can snap up a replacement SF in the draft (either Parker or Wiggins).

[crimson_stallion]

Oh how times change...

I remember a year or so ago Bradley was rumored in a deal that would of brought Cousins to Boston and there were a large group of people against the deal touting Bradley as an "elite" prospect.

Easy to say now "yeah, well whoever said that was dumb."

C'mon guys, Bradley isn't a bad player and if the price is right, we should be happy to have him back.

Who else was in the proposed deal - Rondo and our two firsts this year? I am sure DA likes AB, but he has always had an affinity for Cousins. He would and should give up pretty much whatever SAC desires to add him to the Cs.

I agree with this. 

I'd hapilly offer something like:

* Rajon Rondo
* Jarred Sullinger
* 2014 Brooklyn pick
* 2015 LAC pick

Then I would use our own 2014 pick to draft either Exum or Smart.

This could give us a lineup of:

PG: Exum (18) / Smart (20)
SG: Bradley (23)
SF: Green (27)
PF: Olynyk (22)
C: Cousins (23)

That's a really nice building block for the future, with only one guy on that roster (Green) being over 23 years old.  Look to replace Green via next year's draft (or via trades/free agency) and you suddenly have a core of young talent that could be could for the next 10 years.