I liked the idea of dumping Bradley's contract and getting a 1st. He's not that good and the money can probably be better spent on the free agent market. But once we committed money to Thomas that cut into our cap space, it kinda put a damper on my hope of luring a couple max contract players here through free agency. If we ever land a star here it's going to have to be through a trade package.
Ainge isn't gonna resign all our expiring guys. We'll have room for a max free agent if one is willing to sign here. Possibly even two is he's willing to dump the two PHI 2nds or maybe the DAL 1st to get rod of Wallace's deal a year early. He would of we really had two max-level guys wanting to play here .
Bradley's only 23, he's on a fair-value and soon to be good-value contract. He's a 40% 3 point shooter who plays top-tier defense and by all accounts is a good guy to have around your franchise. The kinda deals Danny left on the table for him this year will be there again. No reason to just dump him off for mediocre return. Cap room is over-valued in my opinion.
Avery is a 36% 3pt shooter which is good but not great.
His advanced metrics suck since he doesn't penetrate. Doesn't get to the FT line. Doesn't rebound and is one of the worst passing SG in the NBA.
He is also undersized, and gets bullied by opposing SG who have 2"5" height and 20-40 lbs weight advantage on him. He is a bench player on a good team - and should not even start for our team. I am not hating on the guy - but he is a SG stuck in a PG body and that is a big problem in the NBA.....
He shot 40% last season, and has shot at 40% since the Rondo/Green trades (Feel free to correct that, but he was last I checked a few games ago). His slightly lower yearly numbers probably have to do with increased shots, but I think he's a 40% shooter from 3 going forward.
Advanced Metrics aren't everything, and they certainly don't acknowledge defense very well. He's not a horrible rebounder, or a horrible ball handler. He's simply mediocre but getting better, and maybe a below average passer but he moves very well without the ball. Very good cutter, and he's been generating easy lay-ups that way lately. Which is a great sign for someone who isn't very good taking it to the rack.
I agree he's undersized, but I'm not sure how much that really matters. He hardly ever guards opposing SG's, especially if they're way bigger than him. Smart does that. And Bradley creates open shots by moving without the ball, which negates his larger defenders advantage. Of course he should start on our team, and he would start on some very good teams as well. Replace Waiters with Bradley on OKC and they're right back in the mix. I understand his faults, but AB has top-tier defensive skills and a very reliable jump shot. He's been our most consistent player this year.
I don't get why anyone would say "Wow we shoulda taken those offers". We Drafted AB 19th overall. Getting a guy of his caliber at that spot is a really good pick. Why would we trade him for a pick even later than that and some cap room when we already have that? Getting mid-level FA's creeping up on the wrong side of 30 is the last thing we should do.