C's sign Bradley

[Roy Hobbs]

Danny saw something special in this kid, which is enough to make me a believer.

Danny has fallen in love with two super-quick, athletic point guards since he's been here.  The question is, is Bradley closer to Banks or Rondo?  I'm betting on the latter.

I'm really hoping the he is like neither and eventually can step in and play the 2 for us.

In an ideal world, I'd like a larger SG, and somebody who is more of a natural three point shooter.  However, you're right that ideally Bradley would be a starter, and it's unlikely that he'll be starting at PG any time soon, so SG may be his best option there.

[ctrey]

Bradley has three qualities that make him NBA worthy: Great speed, Plays hawkish D, and has an outstanding mid range jumper. With the way the game is officiated these days he can break into space and shoot all day from between 15 to 18 feet. He plays bigger than 6-3 and was universally recognized as one of the best defenders in college last year. As a freshman. This is a great pick and I am eager to see Rondo and Bradley on the floor together. Whatever they give up in post up defense they will make up for in transition play IMO.

[LooseCannon]

I think that Bradley potentially means the Celtics should seek bench help in the form of someone who can play both forward positions (the term for which is apparently "cornerman") instead of a SG/SF wingman.  Well, unless you think Bradley automatically needs to be sent to the D League.

Bradley is way more likely to be the SG of the future than any free agent who can be signed for the MLE.

[ACF]

Welcome aboard, young man.

Word.

[Evantime34]

Danny saw something special in this kid, which is enough to make me a believer.

Danny has fallen in love with two super-quick, athletic point guards since he's been here.  The question is, is Bradley closer to Banks or Rondo?  I'm betting on the latter.

I'm really hoping the he is like neither and eventually can step in and play the 2 for us.

In an ideal world, I'd like a larger SG, and somebody who is more of a natural three point shooter.  However, you're right that ideally Bradley would be a starter, and it's unlikely that he'll be starting at PG any time soon, so SG may be his best option there.

His stroke looks pretty fluid to me, and when you have a good looking stroke it is a matter of practice to extend your range.
I think he will start out his career as a good mid range shooter and become a very good 3 point shooter.
He isn't huge but he's only a little bit smaller than TA.

[slamtheking]

I am going to make a prediction that everyone can hold me to.

He will be the best player the Celtics have drafted since Rondo.

Just to be clear, that means better than BBD, Powe, Erden, Hudson, Walker, Giddens and Harangody, IIRC.

I know that's not saying much but before that I think he'll also be better than Banks, TA, and Gomes too.

let's not forget Pruitt, try as you may

[jdpapa3]

Danny saw something special in this kid, which is enough to make me a believer.

Danny has fallen in love with two super-quick, athletic point guards since he's been here.  The question is, is Bradley closer to Banks or Rondo?  I'm betting on the latter.

Would you throw Gabe Pruitt in that mix as well? I know he was a 2nd round pick, but their scouting reports/body types are a very close match. And for the record, I think Gabe had/has the tools to be a contributor in this league, but his head is not screwed on right. Also have to say that Bradley was getting a ton of hype in high school and going into his freshmen year.

[Greenbean]

Danny saw something special in this kid, which is enough to make me a believer.

Danny has fallen in love with two super-quick, athletic point guards since he's been here.  The question is, is Bradley closer to Banks or Rondo?  I'm betting on the latter.

Would you throw Gabe Pruitt in that mix as well? I know he was a 2nd round pick, but their scouting reports/body types are a very close match. And for the record, I think Gabe had/has the tools to be a contributor in this league, but his head is not screwed on right. Also have to say that Bradley was getting a ton of hype in high school and going into his freshmen year.

Gabe Pruit is not a good comparison. He did not have the athletic gifts that Bradley has. Pruit was a shooter with margainal athleticism. The only similarity comes from their tweener status. If Bradley is dynamic enough defensively, we can wait for his shooting to develop. As mentioned in this thread, he has a good stroke. I see him logging minutes backing up both Ray and Rondo.

You never know what you get out of a kid regarding attitude and work ethic but I think this one will work out for some reason.

[Birdbrain]

Bradley has three qualities that make him NBA worthy: Great speed, Plays hawkish D, and has an outstanding mid range jumper. With the way the game is officiated these days he can break into space and shoot all day from between 15 to 18 feet. He plays bigger than 6-3 and was universally recognized as one of the best defenders in college last year. As a freshman. This is a great pick and I am eager to see Rondo and Bradley on the floor together. Whatever they give up in post up defense they will make up for in transition play IMO.

Thanks for the breakdown you actually got me excited to see this guy play with Rondo.  I was a tad concerned about what appeared to be a lack of a jumper for the SG position but, I don't really watch much college bball so again I appreciate your feed back.

[lon3lytoaster]

Welcome aboard, young man.

Word.

Aapp!

(Still kind of hoping Nate is back)

[Kuberski33]

Danny saw something special in this kid, which is enough to make me a believer.

Danny has fallen in love with two super-quick, athletic point guards since he's been here.  The question is, is Bradley closer to Banks or Rondo?  I'm betting on the latter.

ESPN rated him #1 out of HS a year ago above all the recent lottery guys, so he should be a little better than Marcus Banks. Don't underestimate the Rick Barnes factor.  He's a great salesman and a pretty weak coach.

[ctrey]

Here is an excerpt from Draftexpress, giving credence to my point about his mid range game:

Where Bradley really impressed though was the scrimmages, where his team rarely lost and he made great use of the floor’s spacing, getting to open spots of the floor with ease, showing no troubles getting separation from his man. With his excellent body control, balance, and elevation, Bradley just needs a glimmer of space to get his shot off, and he showed that especially playing the pick-and-roll game. Bradley hit a variety of pull-up jumpers from the mid-range and from behind the arc, many with a hand in his face, which didn’t seem to do much. He incorporated in some hesitation dribbles and fakes to get separation when his first move didn’t work, but mostly didn’t need it, just being so proficient out of simple pick-and-rolls.


 

[2short]

You never know with any of the picks (or most) until they step onto the court against NBA talent, no summer league but actual nba players.  If he works out as a sg to spell ray this year and give us some pg that makes TA & Nate expendable.  Meaning $$ freed up and our other needs can be looked at, sf backup and bigs.

[xmuscularghandix]

Here is an excerpt from Draftexpress, giving credence to my point about his mid range game:

Where Bradley really impressed though was the scrimmages, where his team rarely lost and he made great use of the floor’s spacing, getting to open spots of the floor with ease, showing no troubles getting separation from his man. With his excellent body control, balance, and elevation, Bradley just needs a glimmer of space to get his shot off, and he showed that especially playing the pick-and-roll game. Bradley hit a variety of pull-up jumpers from the mid-range and from behind the arc, many with a hand in his face, which didn’t seem to do much. He incorporated in some hesitation dribbles and fakes to get separation when his first move didn’t work, but mostly didn’t need it, just being so proficient out of simple pick-and-rolls.


 

Boom. Pick and roll with BBD is basically the main offense as a PG in our second unit.

[Roy Hobbs]

Danny saw something special in this kid, which is enough to make me a believer.

Danny has fallen in love with two super-quick, athletic point guards since he's been here.  The question is, is Bradley closer to Banks or Rondo?  I'm betting on the latter.

ESPN rated him #1 out of HS a year ago above all the recent lottery guys, so he should be a little better than Marcus Banks. Don't underestimate the Rick Barnes factor.  He's a great salesman and a pretty weak coach.

I'm optimistic about Bradley, but I don't put too much stock in prospect rankings.  B.J. Mullens was the #1 high school senior according to Rivals.com in 2008, for instance.  

Ranking analysts miss as much as NBA GMs do.  I mean, we don't say that Banks was a better prospect than Bradley because he was picked 13th in the draft, so I don't think high school ranking matters a whole heck of a lot, either.