Danny Ainge loves Avery Bradley, but for good reason?

[Celticsfan336]

We all know how much Danny likes Avery as a player. Right from the get-go when he picked him over James Anderson, and refused to trade him.

The homepage (celticsblog.com) article on danny talking about the draft was a great article, especially the Deandre Jordan/JR giddens thing. But it later mentions how he expressed how talented Avery is.

You guys think Avery can help us next year? I mean, with reading 100s of Celtics articles on next year, you hear about the big 4, Green, West, ever Daniels....I havent heard anyone saying Avery would be an imporant man in the rotation. I think he can help off the bench, but doesn't seem to have the basektball talent to backup Rondo, or play the 2. Delonte is way better, and more versatile in my opinion.

"If Avery were in this draft, he would be in the top five," he said yesterday. "There weren't 20 guys better than him in that draft. He went at No. 19 because he got hurt."

Also interesting in that article,
"There’s a chance we could move up. We have to see how it unfolds," he said. "We’ll definitely explore the possibilities. We have two (first-round) picks next year, so we have something to use if we wanted to move up in this year’s draft. But we could also explore moving out."


I honestly think Danny is looking at the "Bismack" guy out of Congo or wherever hes from, hes an interesting talent, but I may be wrong.
I just hope he doesn't trade up too much for a ECF (Euro Center Stiff)

[pearljammer10]

Avery's got a lot of work to do before becoming a legit role player in the NBA. Hes young, raw, doesnt have a good NBA body yet, and lacks experience. He can move the heck out of his feet when hes playing D and his jumper looks pretty good. But as far as next year, I wouldnt be able to put much trust into him yet.

[bbd24]

Avery's got a lot of work to do before becoming a legit role player in the NBA. Hes young, raw, doesnt have a good NBA body yet, and lacks experience. He can move the heck out of his feet when hes playing D and his jumper looks pretty good. But as far as next year, I wouldnt be able to put much trust into him yet.

Probably a pretty good post on him right there.  Has he even turned 20 yet ?  He's got raw potential to the max, and a lot of time left to develop.

For me, the biggest issue he has right now and moving forward will be staying out of foul trouble.  He plays the kinda D that will get him 2 quick ones in a heartbeat.  Needs to learn to control that, and if he does, he could definitely be something in the future.  Next year is pushing it.  2-3 yrs down the road, for sure.  I'm curious to see what he can be at 23 or 24 yrs old.

[Spilling Green Dye]

There's nothing about Avery that impresses me.  Either you possess the basic PG skills and develop them, or you don't have them.  Avery Bradley most certainly does not have PG skills, and he's too small and too poor of a deep shooter to be a SG. 

If he's a top 5 talent in this draft then this draft is even worse than I thought!

[Lucky17]

Was thinking about this earlier this morning.

Avery Bradley may be a fine player someday. But he has miles to go before he can help the Celtics.

If Rondo is the PG of the franchise, then Bradley is, at best, his career backup. A Rondo-Bradley backcourt has great potential in terms of defense, but neither can shoot, making such a pairing a liability on offense.

If Rondo is not the franchise PG (e.g., trade bait), Bradley is still nowhere near being able to run an offense.

Frankly, I think Bradley, and the Celtics, might be better off with a trade.

[Finkelskyhook]

I honestly think Danny is looking at the "Bismack" guy out of Congo or wherever hes from, hes an interesting talent, but I may be wrong.

Clifford Ray is gone.  Perk and Jefferson developed into solid players when Ray came on board.  I don't see a coach like Ray coming back on board unless Danny blows it up.  IMHO, a big man project is very unlikely.  IMHO, any project is unlikely.

Rivers doesn't play rookies in the worst of times.  I think we'll see another undersized but NBA-ready Powe/Gomes/Davis type.  I'd be less surprised if Danny traded down than if he traded up with his recent late-draft successes.  I'm thinking if Faried is available, Danny takes him.  If he's not, Danny trades down.

The draft would be a lot more interesting if it was held about 6 months from now.

[bbd24]

There's nothing about Avery that impresses me.  Either you possess the basic PG skills and develop them, or you don't have them.  Avery Bradley most certainly does not have PG skills, and he's too small and too poor of a deep shooter to be a SG. 

If he's a top 5 talent in this draft then this draft is even worse than I thought!

I can't sour on the kid that easily.  Not at 20 years old.  Especially not if Paul Pierce likes him.  Pierce has seen more than I have.

He's certainly still a project.  He really still should be in college, and not learning from Pro's like Pierce.  If his desire is there to get better, as Pierce as stated before about him, then I see no reason he can't develop.

In his brief stay in the NBDL, he was one of the minor leagues best.  That was at 20 yrs of age.  Theres no urgency to force the young kid into the rotation.  He's got plenty of time to learn and better his game.

[EJPLAYA]

Was thinking about this earlier this morning.

Avery Bradley may be a fine player someday. But he has miles to go before he can help the Celtics.

If Rondo is the PG of the franchise, then Bradley is, at best, his career backup. A Rondo-Bradley backcourt has great potential in terms of defense, but neither can shoot, making such a pairing a liability on offense.

If Rondo is not the franchise PG (e.g., trade bait), Bradley is still nowhere near being able to run an offense.

Frankly, I think Bradley, and the Celtics, might be better off with a trade.

TP. My thoughts exactly. The likely result for him is that he either turns out to be a bust and we lose, or he doesn't and we lose him to free agency. We lose. Either way, a trade would put him in a position to have a chance at a career but also give us something in return while the kid still has "potential". All I have seen out there on the court is an athlete who is too small to play the 2 and not skilled enough to play the 1.

[zerophase]

I don't know why everyone is saying that Bradley can't shoot. He can definitely shoot. I do like his talent. Not so keen on his ball handling skills but he definitely has potential. Anyone else remember his 20 point game? He can definitely be at least a 6th man that scores 10-15ppg in his future. The kid is definitely a lot more humble than Rondo.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrhcIrShZVo

[Lucky17]

I don't know why everyone is saying that Bradley can't shoot. He can definitely shoot.

Nearly 70% of his field goal attempts last season were jump shots. His eFG% on those was below 20%.

http://www.82games.com/1011/10BOS4.HTM

If he's going to be a SG, he's got to work on the S part of the equation.

If he's going to be a PG, he's got a lot to learn there too.

I realize he's extremely young/raw. The question isn't whether he has potential, it's whether he can reach it in the Celtics system.

[Mr October]

I think he's got Dwest-with-more-speed potential.

Essentially he could become a solid 1/2 bench player for 20 mpg. But considering that is his ceiling behind Rondo, he could definitely be used to sweeten a trade.

Yet that ceiling also sounds like a nice role player, so I'm content to keep seeing him develop and earn some more time. No need to force anything trade-wise for the sake of trading.

[Mr October]

I don't know why everyone is saying that Bradley can't shoot. He can definitely shoot.

Nearly 70% of his field goal attempts last season were jump shots. His eFG% on those was below 20%.

http://www.82games.com/1011/10BOS4.HTM

If he's going to be a SG, he's got to work on the S part of the equation.

If he's going to be a PG, he's got a lot to learn there too.

I realize he's extremely young/raw. The question isn't whether he has potential, it's whether he can reach it in the Celtics system.

His minutes and attempts were so spotty and without much rhythm. I don't put too much weight on his stats this year.

He has a good track record of being a good mid range shooter in college and his form looks pretty decent.

[Lucky17]

I don't know why everyone is saying that Bradley can't shoot. He can definitely shoot.

Nearly 70% of his field goal attempts last season were jump shots. His eFG% on those was below 20%.

http://www.82games.com/1011/10BOS4.HTM

If he's going to be a SG, he's got to work on the S part of the equation.

If he's going to be a PG, he's got a lot to learn there too.

I realize he's extremely young/raw. The question isn't whether he has potential, it's whether he can reach it in the Celtics system.

His minutes and attempts were so spotty and without much rhythm. I don't put too much weight on his stats this year.

He has a good track record of being a good mid range shooter in college and his form looks pretty decent.

That is true. Shooters need consistent minutes/reps.

It's so hard to take much from that Knick game. Both teams were mailing it in. Given 20 minutes in a real, competitive game, will Bradley approach those numbers?

[Evantime34]

I don't know why everyone is saying that Bradley can't shoot. He can definitely shoot.

Nearly 70% of his field goal attempts last season were jump shots. His eFG% on those was below 20%.

http://www.82games.com/1011/10BOS4.HTM

If he's going to be a SG, he's got to work on the S part of the equation.

If he's going to be a PG, he's got a lot to learn there too.

I realize he's extremely young/raw. The question isn't whether he has potential, it's whether he can reach it in the Celtics system.

His minutes and attempts were so spotty and without much rhythm. I don't put too much weight on his stats this year.

He has a good track record of being a good mid range shooter in college and his form looks pretty decent.

Good Form on his jumper although it is a little flat. However, with his athleticism I'd rather see him try to get the ball to the hoop more than taking pull up jumpers. Teams gave him the jumper all the time, but I believe in his second year he passes up some of those decent shots for better ones closer to the rim.

Since he was used to being an elite defender at every level he played I think he was a little to aggressive on defense his rookie year. In his second year he will learn how to play NBA defense whcih will lead to less times when he over extends himself resulting in fouls or blow bys.

[ScoobyDoo]

I like this Kid - A LOT. I think he has several things that make him an NBA player already:

1. His Body - he's built very rugged for his size and he's strong for that size as well.

2. Top 5% NBA athleticism - he is a top tier athlete, even by NBA standards.

3. One of the best on ball defenders I've seen in a long, long time. Yes, he gets quick fouls...now - but he is a Pit Bull on D and he will build a reputation as a defender. He's going to be an elite defender at the PG spot. Once he gets a little more seasoned and understand rotations better, he will also be an absolute nightmare in the passing lanes as well.

4. He's actually a pretty good shooter, especially from mid range. His overall shooting range will improve with time, as will his confidence. Once he gets both, he's going to dangerous. Why? Because while he's pretty good "shooter" he's going to be a very good "scorer". He has a nose for the ball on D and a nose for the rim on offense.

5. He's a worker and he's intense when he's on the court. Those two qualities tend to lead to guys sticking in the league.

His major drawback right now is his ball handling and court vision. He should dribble blind folded with two balls all off season and do a heavy dose of other ball handling drills.

He will never be a great "point guard" but I personally think he will be a very good back up point and situational two guard for years to come. If he improves his ball handling, his athleticism will allow him to pretty much get anywhere on the court he wants to with the ball.

We may trade him eventually, but not yet. Need to develop him further. He hasn't scratched what he'll be doing in the league yet.

When you can get away with Bradley and Rondo in the back court together, I'd like to see them on the break with Jeff Green.

I'd also like to see a back up rotation of Bradley and Delonte West in the back court next year.

We need the athleticism and energy.