Bradley is a future star

[Jon]

LOL @ anyone who thinks Bradley's ceiling is quality role player off the bench.  He was a great starter on a championship calibre team, who was a big contributer on both ends of the court,  which already exceeds that expectation.

While dual shoulder injury isn't a small touchup, with todays medicine, it really isn't that massive a deal.  I'm not saying he'll be a star this season by any means, but people routinely make comebacks from much worse injuries ala ACL/neck/etc. The most obvious example is Brady; and I would say he's done pretty well the past few years. 

He has a quality jumpshot with good shooting form
He is good around the rim
Has great athleticism
Is already the best on ball defender in the NBA
Moves well without the ball


He's going to be an elite player.

If I had to bet on whether he's going to be a star or a flop, I think I'd probably bet Bradley being a star.  But that doesn't mean there's not a lot of room in between. 

I like Bradley.  I even liked Bradley prior to his emergence.  But let's remember, he really didn't hit his stride until the last month or two of the season.  And there have been plenty of players over the years who have made runs late in the season on very good teams who never quite lived up to expectations.  Two that jump out from the '90s are Austin Croshere and Bryon Russell.  Both were starters on very good playoff teams (Indy and Utah) and both played themselves into some pretty large contracts.  However, neither turned into anything more than a good role player. 

  One big difference is that Bradley's younger and less experienced than either of them. Players generally improve less when they're 24-26 than when they're 21.

This is true.  And because of that (amongst other reason), I like Bradley's chances. 

I just think we should avoid anointing him as a future star before we even know he can beat Courtney Lee back for the starting job.  I think he can, but there's no need to rush to judgment here. 

We also have to consider how Bradley fits in next year.  We're more talented and have more depth, which likely means he'll see fewer minutes and have fewer shots.  Because of this, it could be hard for him to find his rhythm next year, especially if he misses training camp and possibly part of the season.   

[Yoki_IsTheName]

Gosh, I hope he does turn into one. I'm not as optimistic as everyone is, but he is a starter level talent right now in my eyes.

A Star for me is an All Star talent or a starter whose numbers and/or production is all star worthy. Im not sure if Avery can be one of those, but I'd be more than happy to be proven wrong.

[AB_Celtic]

Plus, Bradley and TA are really similar players. Athletic, defensive specialists whose cuts are the opposing team's worst nightmare.

*Head scratch*, kozlodoev.

That's not any more true than calling Al Jefferson and Ryan Anderson similar players, since they're both power forwards who can put the ball in the bucket.

Bradley is a short, quick guard who can stay with the ball.

Allen is a taller, strong guard who can play the passing lanes and body up stronger players (for those who have forgotten, Doc went on the record long ago saying that if Tony Allen was a couple of inches taller, he'd have him guard PFs).

So yeah, *eyebrow raise* back at people comparing Bradley to Allen. You can compare Rondo to Allen with about the same success.

First off, Al Jefferson has played center for the majority of his NBA career, but that's beside the point. I wholeheartedly disagree with the Jefferson-Anderson comparison, but once again you've made a hefty extrapolation to prove your point. The first one being that comparing Bradley to Allen is the same as Bradley to Garnett.

If I laid out four players for you, one a beefy, strong, C/PF; one a lanky, 3pt-shooting SF/PF; one a slightly undersized defensive combo guard; and one an average-sized, muscular, defensive 2-guard, which two would you say are more similar? The last two, and it has nothing to do with their positions or their size. Their play styles are similar. Nightmarish defense first, with a little bit of offense thrown in.

If after all this you still disagree, fine. You're entitled to your opinion, I just think there's a better way to express it than mockery or exaggeration.

[dtrader]

I disagree with most of this assessment. I'd love to see AB turn into a star for the team, but he hasn't proven anything.  People say he has a good 3 point shot... I say he's been a terrible 3 point shooter for as long as I've watched him, but had a good 2 months where he looked decent (playing on a team where he was never really defended hard).  I also would argue against him being a good finisher. He gets blocked A LOT.  His midrange is spotty at best.

I just think its easier to rationalize his play, as a mediocre player (great defender/limited offense), who had a couple months where he played above his head. Before that he was terrible, and after that he was hurt.

A star?  I can't see it.  I can't think of any player at his size (6-1" maybe), with his skills (defense), and weaknesses (ball handling, passing, shooting),  that was a star.

[Neurotic Guy]

I disagree with most of this assessment. I'd love to see AB turn into a star for the team, but he hasn't proven anything.  People say he has a good 3 point shot... I say he's been a terrible 3 point shooter for as long as I've watched him, but had a good 2 months where he looked decent (playing on a team where he was never really defended hard).  I also would argue against him being a good finisher. He gets blocked A LOT.  His midrange is spotty at best.

I just think its easier to rationalize his play, as a mediocre player (great defender/limited offense), who had a couple months where he played above his head. Before that he was terrible, and after that he was hurt.

A star?  I can't see it.  I can't think of any player at his size (6-1" maybe), with his skills (defense), and weaknesses (ball handling, passing, shooting),  that was a star.

He may not become a star, but my guess is that you can't find too many 21 year olds who had a month (April, 2012) like he had:
32 mpg  15ppg   1.5 apg   2.6 rpg   54% from the arc (18 for 33). Not to mention his defense.

That's a 15 game stretch at a consistently high level at age 21.   Definitely doesn't mean he's going to be a star, but some optimistic speculation is at least understandable if not warranted.

[arambone]

it's more rare for a star to be known primarily for their defense, but it happens. Mutombo, rodman, kg, dwight howard, etc.

Bradley should be better than gerald wallace, a borderline star.

Bradley is already well known and respected by his peers around the league. Dwade knows theres something special there.

Whenever bradley has been free to 'get his', he's put up lots of points. He could definitely put up 20 ppg, but he probably wont get a chance to put up the needed shots until kg and pierce fade or retire.

It wasnt just bradleys defense that had him ranked neck-and-neck with john wall 3 years ago. He might even be better overall than wall this season. Bet u a nickel.

Also, even if bradley only becomes a 15 ppg scorer, he can still become a star. Being a star means being popular in addition to being good, which pretty much means creating cool highlights. If bradley consistently makes highlight worthy steals and blocks like the ones on wade and westbrook, he'll still become a star and fan favorite nationwide.

Dpoy is not a stretch, and would make him a star for sure.

[2short]

Bradley's man on defense is better than alvin robertson's and reminds me at the same level as gary payton at his prime.  Kid has it, will the rest of his game be at a good level?  Some of his streak last year was GREAT can he put up numbers like that consistently?

[BballTim]

I disagree with most of this assessment. I'd love to see AB turn into a star for the team, but he hasn't proven anything.  People say he has a good 3 point shot... I say he's been a terrible 3 point shooter for as long as I've watched him, but had a good 2 months where he looked decent (playing on a team where he was never really defended hard).  I also would argue against him being a good finisher. He gets blocked A LOT.  His midrange is spotty at best.

  I recall reading draft profiles about him saying that he was one of the best shooters in his draft class. I don't think that it's a stretch to think that he'll be a decent shooter going forward.

I just think its easier to rationalize his play, as a mediocre player (great defender/limited offense), who had a couple months where he played above his head. Before that he was terrible, and after that he was hurt.

  I read this a lot and don't think there's a lot of logic to it. That "couple of months" represents about half of his career minutes, those three pointers that he hit were probably 2/3 of his career attempts. I could see a statement like this if he'd been playing steady minutes all along, but stating that his level of play when he was playing sporadic (mainly mop-up) minutes is his norm and all of his play when he was getting steady and meaningful minutes should be disregarded seems like an odd way to evaluate players.

[Edgar]

  That "couple of months" represents about half of his career minutes, those three pointers that he hit were probably 2/3 of his career attempts.

I see the point on this one
but other than a pretty nice developed deffense any offensive peak is just what it is an offensive peak, of course hes projected to be a great shooter, hopefully he will be
The future star treatment...still have a loooong way to ........even start

[BballTim]

  That "couple of months" represents about half of his career minutes, those three pointers that he hit were probably 2/3 of his career attempts.

I see the point on this one
but other than a pretty nice developed deffense any offensive peak is just what it is an offensive peak, of course hes projected to be a great shooter, hopefully he will be
The future star treatment...still have a loooong way to ........even start

  A peak is something that's higher than normal. What's normal for Bradley? Has he had longish stints in his career where he played steady minutes and not produced like he did in his "peak"?

[Edgar]

  That "couple of months" represents about half of his career minutes, those three pointers that he hit were probably 2/3 of his career attempts.

I see the point on this one
but other than a pretty nice developed deffense any offensive peak is just what it is an offensive peak, of course hes projected to be a great shooter, hopefully he will be
The future star treatment...still have a loooong way to ........even start

  A peak is something that's higher than normal. What's normal for Bradley? Has he had longish stints in his career where he played steady minutes and not produced like he did in his "peak"?

streak???
maybe the word is bad used but the idea is the one i was pointing
and the sentence seems to make that clear...

ure right  but that one was his peak too.... yet
like Gerald Greens
lets see what he can do from now on before crowning him


or at least if he can be consistant and stay healthy

[gar]

AB took a while to get up to speed and he will likely take a while to adjust to life after two shoulder operations. Rehab from shoulder surgery is no fun and could impact just about everything he does on the court. We can only hope he gets back to that level quickly and does not regress too much.

[LooseCannon]

  I recall reading draft profiles about him saying that he was one of the best shooters in his draft class. I don't think that it's a stretch to think that he'll be a decent shooter going forward.

I recall the description being that he had a good mid-range jumper. I think it was said that Bradley was just killing it when they practiced and he had good form of his jumper, so Doc was publicly wondering why more shots weren't going in.

Bradley's shooting percentage was getting better.  Perhaps he is a guy who shoots better when he gets more minutes and would be better playing 30+ minutes as a starter rather than 20-25 minutes off the bench.

[SHAQATTACK]

Bradley was finally showing the world what Doc and DA knew he was capable of before his shoulder injuries. These I think he can recover from 99.8 % and continue to get better in his all around game. He's got TWO good legs.    I can't say the same for D Rose. , for the acrobatic high flying game he wants and needs to play to get his advasntage over opposing teams , a knee injury like his may never let him come close to his original first step and leaping ability he once had.

Rondo and AB are only gonna get better as they mature and skills improve.  If they can stay healthy , they are gonna be one the NBA primier/elite backcourt combos .

[Chris]

Bradley's shooting percentage was getting better.  Perhaps he is a guy who shoots better when he gets more minutes and would be better playing 30+ minutes as a starter rather than 20-25 minutes off the bench.

I think its comfort.  He was like a deer in headlights for a long time, and rushed every shot.  It wasn't until he stopped overthinking things that he started playing like an NBA player.  I don't think its a matter of minutes, it is just the maturing of a young player.