Avery Bradley trade idea

[Boris Badenov]

I'm as excited about Bradley as anyone, but he creates a lot of limitations offensively when paired with Rondo.

Those were masked last year because the starting lineup had three other high quality jump shooters, but if we replace Bass with the type of player people are clamoring for (defense/rebounding) type, then we will have real problems offensively, with just Garnett and Pierce as good options.

If Bradley develops a good consistent jumper the point becomes moot. But that is very uncertain.

Bottom line, there's a lot of uncertainty about whether he is a good long term fit with Rondo.

[ScoobyDoo]

I wouldn't trade Bradley unless I got a really good deal and i'm not sure the package mentioned constitutes a "great deal".

We already know Bradley is an excellent defender - he can change a game with it.

But I'm suprised at how many people still say he is severely limited offensively. He struggled in the playoffs with a separated shoulder. But as a starter he proved to be a very consistent scorer and he found the rim in a number of ways (mid range, breaks, cuts, some threes and at the foul line). I agree with whoever said he's just starting to scratch the surface of his potential.

He also brings intangibles - he gets the team juiced with his intensity and he's tough as nails both physically and mentally. He brings a real toughness to the team and that is an intangible that is very important to me.   

[colincb]

I wouldn't trade Bradley unless I got a really good deal and i'm not sure the package mentioned constitutes a "great deal".

We already know Bradley is an excellent defender - he can change a game with it.

But I'm suprised at how many people still say he is severely limited offensively. He struggled in the playoffs with a separated shoulder. But as a starter he proved to be a very consistent scorer and he found the rim in a number of ways (mid range, breaks, cuts, some threes and at the foul line). I agree with whoever said he's just starting to scratch the surface of his potential.

He also brings intangibles - he gets the team juiced with his intensity and he's tough as nails both physically and mentally. He brings a real toughness to the team and that is an intangible that is very important to me.   

Well opponents didn't cover him that much during the regular season and he was getting points he shouldn't have if they had, especially on the cuts.  When the playoffs came the cuts went away (and I don't think that has much to do with his shoulders) as well as everything else.  If we're putting all our eggs in one basket with AB AND we intend to contend, that's a mistake.  If we're in some process of rebuilding, it doesn't matter.

[ScoobyDoo]

I'm not saying I wouldn't trade him. But it better be for someone does something, has some skill that is a top five NBA skill - because i think Bradley is that good defensively - in the back court.

And outside of the top 3 to maybe 5 picks I don't know if we'll find someone who does at least one thing at that high a level.

As for his offense, I'm not worried about that with him. He strikes me as having a nose for the rim on offense and a nose for the ball on defense - I'm confident he'll figure out how to score. I also think he has a much better stroke than people give him credit for. The more comfortable he gets the more we'll see evidence of that.

Lastly, when he was on the floor - with KG and Rondo - didn't we have some "historical" numbers defensively? Not just best this year but numbers that compared favorably all time?

I like that. He's not "the answer" but I think he is a great piece to our puzzle and I hope he's in our guard rotation long term. 

[mmmmm]

Bradley's offense is inevitable.

He was a fine jump shooter at all levels prior to the NBA and has excellent form.

He struggled in limited time to find his shot until finally getting steady minutes.  During the second half of the season when for the first time in his NBA career he got real minutes (34 games, 24.9 mpg, 845 total minutes) his shooting percentages were:

FG%  52.2
FT%  83.9
3P%  50.0

In college, his FG% was 'only' 43.2%, but that's because Barnes' offense had him primarily taking outside shots, wasting his ability to cut & drive to the hoop, imho.  Nevertheless, he took a 3rd of his shots from outside the arc where his 3P% was a respectable 37.5%.   Folks will then point to his low FT% of just 54.5% - but that's a symptom of small sample size.  Because he was always playing on the perimeter he rarely took more than a free throw per game.  So that sample size is based on about 40 total attempts.

His high-school and D-League numbers in 2010/11 were, imho, a better indicator of his true shooting abilities because in each case he got more consistent utilization and was more confident about his role in the offense.  The D-League is on a par with upper level NCAA competition and when Bradley went there for 9 games in 2010/11 he ate it up.  Getting a healthy 32.2 mpg, he averaged 17.1 & 5.2 assists, shooting 45.2% / 37% / 85.7%.

I have zero doubt that Bradley will prove to be a legitimate jump shooting threat in the NBA.  Sure, he's not likely to continue to shoot 50% from 3PT land.  But he's probably going to be around a 37-40% shooter from outside the arc, which is terrific.

Add to that his proven ability to run and cut and add in a better handle with more experience, and he eventually should be as dangerous on offense as he is on defense.

Remember, he is STILL only 21 years old!  There is a good chance, depending on who we draft, that he will STILL be the youngest player on the team this next year.

His upside is still tremendous.

[SHAQATTACK]

Upside , Bradely is young, good Legs and Back .   Short term , he is going to have to rehab his shoulders and get his shot back to where it was , this might take a year , eventually he'll get it back .  We probally are going to be be disappointed initially , until he can get back into form.  All the guys GRENN, WILCOX , ALLEN ..whoever comes back are going to need alot of offseason work.

[BballTim]

Before I get to the trade idea, I just wanted to say that I have no reason to believe this would actually happen, although I certainly wouldn't mind it.

Boston receives: Marcus Morris, the 16th pick in the 2012 draft, and the rights to Donatos Motijuenas.

Houston receives: Avery Bradley, the 51st pick in the 2012 draft, and maybe cash considerations to seal the deal.

Why Boston does it: Boston would get two big men and another first round pick to accelerate the youth movement, and it allows for even more flexibility in our draft selections.

Why Houston does it: Houston get's a lockdown defender and someone with an incredibly high ceiling to replace Dragic and provide them with valuable perimiter defense. With the 51st pick they can stash someone overseas to compensate for the loss of Motiejuenas.

Then Boston's draft could look something like this

16: Jared Sullinger, PF/C, OSU
21: Quincy Miller, SF, Baylor
22: Tony Wroten, PG/SG, Washington

What do you guys think? Would either team say no? Is it too many first round picks? Would Doc attempt to consolidate some of those young assets/picks into a single, much higher pick?

Boston would say no.  I think AB is as untouchable as Rondo is at this point:  we are only trading him for a shot at a perennial All Star.  AB will be on the All NBA Defensive team next year.

This trade only happens if KG, Ray, and Pierce are all gone off the team, and Danny really decides to go young.

Perennial all-stars only in return?

Bradley had the 2nd worst NBA efficiency in the playoffs for players with >20 mpg.  I'll grant that the injury could have affected his shooting, but for those who were wondering how he'd do when the opposition paid attention to him, he didn't do well.  Defensively he's great, but the jury's out on his offense and if it's as bad as it was during the playoffs, then how do you start him for the long-term with Rondo?

  Needing surgery on both shoulders *could* affect his shooting?

Sure.  Is he untouchable?  Is he on the same level as Rondo? Did he perform well in the playoffs?

  Untouchable? No. On the level of Rondo? No. As for the playoffs, he did fairly well considering that it was his first postseason and he was injured.

[Cman]

The hyperbole about Bradley is staggering in this thread.

Untouchable? Hardly. Top 3 pick? Hardly. People, he has two surgically repaired shoulders and he's essentially a defensive specialist who is unproven offensively.

He's available if I'm Ainge, but not for the package listed below.

If you'd just listened to Ainge on EEI, you wouldn't think Bradley is available.  Spoke very highly about his chance to be really special and referred to his being very efficient offensively in the latter part of last season.

Whoops, that set off the radar!
Using my Danny decoder I interpret that to mean that some teams have been inquiring about AB, and Danny is considering the deal, but wants more out of it....

[ctrey]

Everyone on this board can slam me if my prediction does not come true: Avery Bradley will end up being the modern version of Joe Dumars.

[2short]

Everyone on this board can slam me if my prediction does not come true: Avery Bradley will end up being the modern version of Joe Dumars.

maybe offensively, not knocking joe on his defense at all but avery is already better, has to learn to think a bit on defense (something rondo and kg are amazing at) but he has really only played 1/2 season in career

[Edgar]

Avery Bradley > Gerald Green



p.s. come one 2short AB will NEVER be as good offensivly as Dumars, and deffense from JD was very very good


Sometimes I wonder what would happend if AB never blocked Wade.

[BballTim]

Sometimes I wonder what would happend if AB never blocked Wade.

  People would just talk about the job he did on Jameer instead.

[CantBeRight]

Are you serious?
C'mon man I live in Houston and I'm a rockets fan too and as good as Avery is he's not worth THAT much to the rockets.

[Ogaju]

the trade prognosticators are always do not hesitate to throw AB in trade predictions or wishes. AB is too young and to good potentially to keep putting him in trade predictions.

[indeedproceed]

I don't think Bradley will or should be moved until he plays healthy for a while. Until then, no team will pay premium for him until then, and Boston easily stands as the team with the least to gain and most to lose because of that.