Re-sign Avery Bradley now!

[Monkhouse]

Offense wins games. Defense wins championships.

Now I gotta be honest, I never really thought Avery Bradley wasn't anything great when he was drafted. I didn't even think he would even be on the Celtics, knowing the ambiguity that Danny Ainge, himself plays with on draft night.

First off, I'd like to say anyone who has ever doubted Danny Ainge needs to stop it. You can say whatever you want about his terrible draft picks, or trading away good players, but... Danny Ainge has guts... Who else pulls off blockbuster trades? In 2007-2013, Danny Ainge has made at least 4 prominent blockbuster trades that has shaped our entire Celtics roster.

Now back to the original topic at hand, I think it is a no-brainer we should sign AB. Why? Get him convinced on signing a team friendly deal of 3-4 years. While the last thing we should concentrate on should be long term contracts, I don't see how this is a big deal. 20-24 for 4 years, with 1 not guaranteed seems like a pivotal agreement that the Celtics can come to terms with.

1) Stevens and Rivers has played Bradley out of position, and yet in the pre-season he has compiled under a small sample size, 43.7% 3 pt average, which is pretty good. He needs to work on his handles, but Avery Bradley is still 22, and there is plenty of time to work on that.

2) Coming off not one, but two double shoulder injury, Bradley managed to limit his opponents to 0.73 points per play, which is impressive. If what is indeed true, and Bradley has really bulked up. Withstanding bigger opponents will for sure be an easier task for him to defend. This is also his actual first healthy season, so even if he isn't polished offensively... The league is still in dire need for potential defensive stoppers, and at best Bradley could be a good sixth man off the bench. Plus he is also young, so there is still value in whether or not people on Celtics blog criticize him.

3) Bradley may be one of the best cutters in the league right now. No one else can run fluidly through the defense, and scatter players in out trying to guard him only to find him get the sneaky lay in.

4)Bradley can and hopefully become a good defensive vocal leader. He learned from Kevin Garnett, so I'm keeping fingers crossed that he may become the vocal leader in keeping the defense protected. We do need a good defensive big men, but for now Bradley should be the one who can help out with that.

What will ever transpire this year, I believe Danny should just snatch Bradley as cheap as he can grab him. I don't think AB will ask any more than 24 for 4 years, and if he does, then you already know Danny Ainge will refuse that offer.

[LooseCannon]

He will be a restricted free agent next summer so I don't think it makes sense to sign him to a long-term deal unless he agrees to something less than a full-MLE offer that another team might give him in July.  Anything more than that is the Celtics bidding against themselves.

[D.o.s.]

There's really no reason to do it now when we'll be able to do it later.

[Chris]

I am sure Danny would love to sign Bradley to a team friendly deal right now.  But that's easier said than done.  Players almost never sign contracts after their third year, unless they are getting big money.  And Bradley hasn't shown nearly enough to get that kind of money. 

[Who]

$10 million over 3 years seems fair.

[SHAQATTACK]

Like AB. A lot ,  would like to see him stay a Celtic  if possible.

I just don't know what he is worth. A year,   that's. a tuff one  to figure ,,as his talents are a bit unique ,  and some parts of his game needs work, yet he is young ......sorta complex

I just hope he stays ....but not as point. Guard.

[billysan]

Although I can't predict wether Danny will offer Bradley a contract before he is an RFA, I do believe that the actual contract the Celtics offer Avery will be based on his desirability on the trade market.

As much as I like Avery and value his defensive contributions, I dont think there is any chance we pay him SG market value unless we are going to trade him. He will be lucky to make Tony Allen money as a FA.

A PG sized defensive specialist isnt going to be a big need going forward and being undersized as a SG doesnt help his cause either. Those factors will lower his future value IMHO.

[Lucky17]

$10 million over 3 years seems fair.

I would love to lock him up for that kind of money.

[billysan]

$10 million over 3 years seems fair.

I would love to lock him up for that kind of money.

Agreed. That is fair money for his skill set.

[PhoSita]

$10 million over 3 years seems fair.

I agree with this. 

I'm sure Bradley wants closer to what Courtney Lee is making, however.

He shouldn't get it, but there may be some team next summer willing to give him a deal like that (4 yrs / 20-25 million).  Unless he shows a lot of improvement this year I'd be fine letting him go if somebody does make him an offer like that.

[Lucky17]

Anyone know anything about Mitchell Butler, Bradley's agent?

[Celtics18]

The potential problem with waiting is that he ends up being worth considerably more next summer than he is worth right now. 

I'm guessing he has already been offered something in the range of what Who was suggesting, but that Avery wants to try to go out and earn more than that. 

If that's the case, I can't really fault either party.  I just hope we can keep him. 

[bello_man09]

i really hope we keep him , i see AB getting a lot better this year..

[Boris Badenov]

$10 million over 3 years seems fair.

I agree with this. 

I'm sure Bradley wants closer to what Courtney Lee is making, however.

He shouldn't get it, but there may be some team next summer willing to give him a deal like that (4 yrs / 20-25 million).  Unless he shows a lot of improvement this year I'd be fine letting him go if somebody does make him an offer like that.

I dunno, I think there was some discussion on this over the summer, and I remember concluding that defensive specialists rarely get paid much. Look at Tony Allen, Bowen etc...TA got around $3m per year at a similar point in his career. Why would Bradley get more?

The thing is, at this point Bradley really lacks offensive game even relative to those guys. Bowen was a good 3pt shooter. TA was erratic but also capable of scoring bursts.

I could be off base but I think that $10m for 3 deal is pretty good for both sides. And if I'm Bradley, I'm worried because Rondo makes me a lot better offensively and could be out for a significant chunk of the year, which could depress my overall numbers and market value.

[ManUp]

$10 million over 3 years seems fair.

I agree with this. 

I'm sure Bradley wants closer to what Courtney Lee is making, however.

He shouldn't get it, but there may be some team next summer willing to give him a deal like that (4 yrs / 20-25 million).  Unless he shows a lot of improvement this year I'd be fine letting him go if somebody does make him an offer like that.

This.

IMO, unless he's a player you think is worth more than the MLE(a game changer) I think he should be traded before that point. There's no value in losing him for nothing, but no point in keeping him if he's not a real game changer. MLE contracts add up and can be the difference between signing or missing out on a Max level players.