Avery Bradley

Avery Bradley
PG/SG, 6’2, 180lbs, 26 years old, 7 years of experience

A career year for Bradley in most categories, especially with an unexpected yet massive increase in his rebounding numbers. Bradley has developed into a plenty solid player on both ends of the court, an engaged defender and timely offensive player who does not let being undersized deter him from going to the glass and wanting the toughest wing defence match-up. His contract situation, however, must play a big role in his future - Bradley is underpaid for what he does, yet his contract expires at the end of next year, and he will require/merit a bigger deal to keep him. There will be suitors, and Bradley will be turning 28 next November. So while he is a valuable player an asset, he is one that needs consolidating. He should be either renegotiated and extended this summer, or traded while the value is high. Not because he is not good, but because he is.

Player Plan: One more year at $8,808,989. Eligible for the renegotiation/extension option so as to avoid the open market, and if no star can be found via the cap space route, this is probably the best use of the space available, second only to the same with Thomas. It is worth establishing his trade value given the wealth of guard options and the need to both balance the team, consolidate assets and improve the talent level. But taking Tatum instead of another guard makes this less of a requirement

Of the aforementioned 29 players signed so far, all but Wesley Johnson, DeMarcus Cousins, Greg Monroe, Gordon Hayward, Avery Bradley, Craig Brackins, Quincy Pondexter and Lazar Hayward have performance incentives in their contracts. This means that the top three picks all have them, as do most of the ones below them. So when I say it is standard practice to have performance incentives in rookie scale contracts, I am not just yanking your crank. It really is.

Pick 19: The Celtics are up next, and the panel are discussing everything they can think of Celtics related. Stu Scott prefixes this debate by asking Jeff Van Gundy which way he leans, which is funny if you're six. Meanwhile, Jon Barry is catering to his own strengths, and has reverted to form by pointing out really obvious things about old NBA players. Did you know that Kevin Garnett will never be as good as he used to be? Jon Barry does.

As Bilas talks over David Stern's announcement of the pick, the Celtics select Avery Bradley from Texas. The fact that Bradley is best as a point guard and yet averaged 2 assists per game is less than ideal; however, it's still a good pick. Bradley is a legitimate defensive player, even of those both quicker and bigger than him, and is somewhat Kirk Hinrich-like in that regard. His set shot is also good for a player of his age, and has developed quickly. He can't really do a whole lot off the dribble, nor create in the half court, but on a team with Paul Pierce, this should be fine.

That said, I do have one question: does anyone need both Avery Bradley and Tony Allen?

Bradley's highlight montage shows him playing stifling defense on Arkansas's Courtney Fortson. Fortson, too, is in this draft, yet he is destined to go undrafted. Would you draft a 5'11 point guard who shot 35% from the field and committed 5.1 turnovers per game? I probably would not. But he's unrelentingly confident, as evident by the fact that he's in the draft. So he's got that going for him.

Bradley's 'Must Improve' caption claims that he must improve his "shooting." If you respect my opinion at any point, trust me when I say to you that Jay Bilas is more right than the caption guy. Stu Scott then tells a story about how Bradley learnt "time management" from Kevin Durant, which begs the question of why you never see "time management" on a draftee's Must-Improve caption.