Avery Bradley making a difference for the Pistons

[Tr1boy]

They are now 7-3. Beat the lowly Kings tonight. AB  shot 10-14 and 25 pts

I been following him casually.... and he has been the difference imo. Same team as last season except now they have AB

Good for AB.  At the end of the day, this is likely going to be a beneficial trade for both teams.

At this rate I can see the Pistons shelling out max or near max for AB to stay long term

[GreenEnvy]

Not surprised. He’s turned himself into a nice offensive player with his elite defense. Every season he worked on a weakness and added a new wrinkle to his game. The last descendant of the Big Three era. He will carry the torch. I hope he gets PAID next summer. Great kid.

[RockinRyA]

Not surprised. He’s turned himself into a nice offensive player with his elite defense. Every season he worked on a weakness and added a new wrinkle to his game. The last descendant of the Big Three era. He will carry the torch. I hope he gets PAID next summer. Great kid.

His shooting has been inconsistent this season. However his impact on their culture, the leadership he provides, has been evident.

[gouki88]

Good. Always loved AB, and I'm glad to see him succeed. Shame it couldn't be here, but it was necessary for us going forward. Hope can have a long healthy career there

[trickybilly]

They should offer him a 5-year max without blinking. Trade Drummond and Jackson for youth, picks. Tank for this year, pick up Porter or Doncic. Try again.

[Csfan1984]

I think he should get his max deal at least 4 year one. He is earning it.

[ChillyWilly]

I'm not surprised one bit. Glad he's continuing his growth in Detriot with SVG they seem like a good match. Don't think AB is worth max money but he'll get paid.

Didn't like the deal when we made it but I get why Danny did it. We couldn't keep AB and we needed to get longer and stronger.

[Granath]

I'm giggling at the people who think that Bradley should get the max - and remember I'm the big AB fan on this board, one of the few who defended that contract 4 years ago when everyone thought Danny overpaid.

But 16 ppg, 2 assists and 3 rebounds per game does not warrant maximum money. That's as good as he's ever going to be. Bradley is doing what he always does. He's a pro's pro. But he's a complimentary piece, not someone who spend maximum money on.

[ETNCeltics]

Good heavens. Giving  a max contract to a guy like Avery is a dead end. He's the 4th guy, at best, on a championship caliber squad. Where would he fit if we still had him? He wouldn't even be one of our 5 most valued players, after Al, KI, GH, and the young guys.

[Hank Finkel]

I am happy for AB but I think in the long run JB will be the better player.  He is longer and more versatile on defense and although his offense isn't at ABs level I think he will get there.  Here is where a trade is good for both team.  Morris fits a need for the C's and AB is helping his team. Win win. 

[trickybilly]

Good heavens. Giving  a max contract to a guy like Avery is a dead end. He's the 4th guy, at best, on a championship caliber squad. Where would he fit if we still had him? He wouldn't even be one of our 5 most valued players, after Al, KI, GH, and the young guys.

Agree with everything you said.

Still think Detroit should offer him the max, under certain conditions...

[ChillyWilly]

Good heavens. Giving  a max contract to a guy like Avery is a dead end. He's the 4th guy, at best, on a championship caliber squad. Where would he fit if we still had him? He wouldn't even be one of our 5 most valued players, after Al, KI, GH, and the young guys.

Agree with everything you said.

Still think Detroit should offer him the max, under certain conditions...

We paid big Al Max just for the culture change and bringing in a pros pro so I can see your logic in this. Detriot isn't a championship caliber team they are in transition much like we were when we brought in Al. Just can't see AB getting max money. Overpay by Detriot sure but max money would be more than an overpay.

Still see your point here and you make a good one.

[tazzmaniac]

Good heavens. Giving  a max contract to a guy like Avery is a dead end. He's the 4th guy, at best, on a championship caliber squad. Where would he fit if we still had him? He wouldn't even be one of our 5 most valued players, after Al, KI, GH, and the young guys.

Agree with everything you said.

Still think Detroit should offer him the max, under certain conditions...

No they shouldn't.  Bradley's Max will be over 30M per year.  His performance doesn't justify that and he's got an injury history.  There will be a very limited amount of cap space next offseason so there should be no reason to overpay for Bradley. 

[DefenseWinsChamps]

He's putting up decent numbers, but the advanced stats still don't like his contribution. He has a lowly 98 offensive rating and a below average 107 defensive rating. In other words, at that rate, if he was on the court for a whole game and the Pistons had 100 possessions (which is average for a game), they would lose 98-107.

I credit the Pistons resurgence to the other guys. I've always been a Tobias Harris fan. He is still young and looks like an All star. Drummond still misses a lot of rotations, but he is improving other areas of his game. Reggie Jackson finally looks like he is back to where he was a couple seasons ago as an offensive initiator.

All of that being said, I still think they are fool's gold. They probably end up slightly above .500 (43 wins?), but I don't think they scare the Celtics, Cavs, Bucks, or Raptors.

[Green-18]

Good heavens. Giving  a max contract to a guy like Avery is a dead end. He's the 4th guy, at best, on a championship caliber squad. Where would he fit if we still had him? He wouldn't even be one of our 5 most valued players, after Al, KI, GH, and the young guys.

Agree with everything you said.

Still think Detroit should offer him the max, under certain conditions...

No they shouldn't.  Bradley's Max will be over 30M per year.  His performance doesn't justify that and he's got an injury history.  There will be a very limited amount of cap space next offseason so there should be no reason to overpay for Bradley.

No way Avery gets a max contract.  He has always been on of my favorites but he is nowhere near worth the max.  That would be irresponsible for any GM to do.  I think $20-23 million per year is where he will land.  Either way it's nice to see Avery having a strong impact on the culture in Detroit.  Consistency and effort is rare in most NBA locker rooms.  I'm sure SVG is thrilled to have Bradley.

On another note, we can't talk about the Pistons resurgence without mentioning Tobias Harris, Andre Drummond, and Reggie Jackson.  Harris is off to the best start of his career.  Reggie Jackson is healthy.  Most importantly Andre Drummond is MAKING free throws.  Thus far he is shooting 75% from the line.  This makes the Pistons so much better during crunch time.  The Pistons 37-45 record from last season was a reflection of their inability to close out games.