Re-sign Avery Bradley now!

[kozlodoev]

3M a year, if consider the potential can be 4M
more than that he can go

Why does he need to go?  Why not just keep him this year, see how he progresses.  And then you can just sign him to the qualifying offer next year, if you still aren't ready to pay him.

To me, Bradley has shown that he's someone with an extremely narrow comfort zone, who experiences a precipitous drop in production once he steps out of it. I don't see this as the foundation of a solid NBA player.

Depends on your definition of solid NBA player.  He has shown enough to know that he can be a very solid NBA role player.  Because the definition of a good role player is someone who stays in their comfort zone.

My definition of a solid NBA player is someone who can contribute. And by that, I mean someone who can contribute at all times, and not someone whose whole game will fall apart if you're unable to stash him in the corner for the entire duration of a half-court possession, and only target him for wide open shots or layups.

Well, this would mean that about 60% (and that might be really low) of rotation players in the NBA are not "solid NBA players".

The whole idea of a role player, is that you have a flawed player, who does at least one thing really good, and when you are on a good team, you find ways to hide his weaknesses.  That is exactly what Bradley is right now.  It's the same as Tony Allen, Bruce Bowen, Jason Terry (in his prime), James Posey, and many other role players who have had long careers as very valuable players.

It's not the same at all. Tony Allen is clearly not a PG, yet he was never as thoroughly embarrassing and painful to watch when asked to man the position. He clearly wasn't a multidimensional scorer, yet he has never had the sustained run of sub-40% shooting that Bradley has displayed.

You can pretty much say exactly the same for House (and Terry) -- while they were lights-out shooters, they never appeared completely incompetent when asked to play defense or handle the ball. It may have clearly been a sub-optimal option, but that's a different story.

Posey, likewise, was clearly a defense-first player that thrived on the corner shot, but he'd run pick and roll and rebound when matched with a bigger guy.

The case in point is that Bradley look like a JV guy unless he's doing his thing, and his thing really isn't much. And it's really the combination of these two issues that's the crux of the problem.

[Yoki_IsTheName]

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.

This and double it.

Bradley is no doubt a defensive star, but not nearly showed anything outside of that.

He even got burned in the Playoffs by Raymond Felton who I think ate too many cinnamon buns two years ago, and he's supposed to be a defensive stopper.

I want to see what he can really do outside of his pesky defense this year. I think half the season of Avery should be extension. I wont mind paying him $6-8 per year if he shows he can hit 3 point shots on a solid efficiency (maybe around 38%), be that slasher off the ball and still provide hounding, 2nd team All NBA defense and stay healthy. He already earned some money for his defense (despite being outmatched in the Playoffs), the shooting and the durability should be the only thing we need to see before we should commit to a long term deal that might cost us a lot.

I hope we don't offer him that much money right now, I need to see it. We need to see it. If we can extend him to say 3 years at $4 million per year then go (and chances are his camp knows he's going to get paid more than that by other teams) otherwise I want to see what he can do other than defending.

[Galeto]

Does Avery really have a lot of room to improve?  Besides his age, I don't see a lot of hope for optimism.  Has he even improved since entering the league?  He came in as a below-average ballhandler, finisher and passer and he still remains one in all those categories. 

I don't dislike Avery.  I think he's capable of shooting well for a full season.  He's already a solid spot-up shooter and his shooting form is, well, kind of pretty.  If he can do so, he might be worth around 6 million.  But as for his other weaknesses, even by the time they're Avery's age, they're already who they're going to be as far as ballhandlers and finishers.

[Chris]

3M a year, if consider the potential can be 4M
more than that he can go

Why does he need to go?  Why not just keep him this year, see how he progresses.  And then you can just sign him to the qualifying offer next year, if you still aren't ready to pay him.

To me, Bradley has shown that he's someone with an extremely narrow comfort zone, who experiences a precipitous drop in production once he steps out of it. I don't see this as the foundation of a solid NBA player.

Depends on your definition of solid NBA player.  He has shown enough to know that he can be a very solid NBA role player.  Because the definition of a good role player is someone who stays in their comfort zone.

My definition of a solid NBA player is someone who can contribute. And by that, I mean someone who can contribute at all times, and not someone whose whole game will fall apart if you're unable to stash him in the corner for the entire duration of a half-court possession, and only target him for wide open shots or layups.

Well, this would mean that about 60% (and that might be really low) of rotation players in the NBA are not "solid NBA players".

The whole idea of a role player, is that you have a flawed player, who does at least one thing really good, and when you are on a good team, you find ways to hide his weaknesses.  That is exactly what Bradley is right now.  It's the same as Tony Allen, Bruce Bowen, Jason Terry (in his prime), James Posey, and many other role players who have had long careers as very valuable players.

It's not the same at all. Tony Allen is clearly not a PG, yet he was never as thoroughly embarrassing and painful to watch when asked to man the position. He clearly wasn't a multidimensional scorer, yet he has never had the sustained run of sub-40% shooting that Bradley has displayed.

You can pretty much say exactly the same for House (and Terry) -- while they were lights-out shooters, they never appeared completely incompetent when asked to play defense or handle the ball. It may have clearly been a sub-optimal option, but that's a different story.

Posey, likewise, was clearly a defense-first player that thrived on the corner shot, but he'd run pick and roll and rebound when matched with a bigger guy.

The case in point is that Bradley look like a JV guy unless he's doing his thing, and his thing really isn't much. And it's really the combination of these two issues that's the crux of the problem.

Agree to disagree.  I think you put Bradley on a quality team, that can allow him to play his role of playing off the ball as a spot-up shooter and cutter on offense, while providing pressure on the ball on defense, and he is a really valuable weapon. 

Role players are always about putting them in a position to succeed.  And for Bradley, without a PG to play with, it is impossible to put him in that position.  But he has an elite NBA skill.  And that will always keep him in an NBA rotation. 

[kozlodoev]

Agree to disagree.  I think you put Bradley on a quality team, that can allow him to play his role of playing off the ball as a spot-up shooter and cutter on offense, while providing pressure on the ball on defense, and he is a really valuable weapon. 

Role players are always about putting them in a position to succeed.  And for Bradley, without a PG to play with, it is impossible to put him in that position.  But he has an elite NBA skill.  And that will always keep him in an NBA rotation.

I guess.

I don't think he has an elite, sustainable NBA skill. There is a reason why you don't see full-court pressure on PGs in the NBA (one, you can't maintain throughtout a game, two, it just takes one backcourt pick to sort this out once you know it's coming), and I don't think Bradley's defense off the ball and in the half court is in any way remarkable.

I fully expect his defensive prowess to take a dip now that he's on scouting radars. There were signs of this last season already, especially in the playoffs. So in many respects this is a do-or-die season for Bradley -- he'll either develop a more conventional ability he can fall back to on both defense and offense, or he'll fizzle out.

[LooseCannon]

Does Avery really have a lot of room to improve?  Besides his age, I don't see a lot of hope for optimism.  Has he even improved since entering the league?  He came in as a below-average ballhandler, finisher and passer and he still remains one in all those categories. 

His regular-season shooting percentage on two-point jump shots has climbed from 22.0 to 37.8% to 39.5%.  On two-point shots 16-feet and out, it has gone from 21.9% to 40.0% to 44.5%.

I think there is reason to be optimistic that his shooting numbers might be acceptable, so long as he isn't forced to play PG.

[kozlodoev]

His regular-season shooting percentage on two-point jump shots has climbed from 22.0 to 37.8% to 39.5%.

Isn't this another way to say his shooting has leveled out at ~40% (which, by the way, is god-awful)?

[Boris Badenov]

His regular-season shooting percentage on two-point jump shots has climbed from 22.0 to 37.8% to 39.5%.

Isn't this another way to say his shooting has leveled out at ~40% (which, by the way, is god-awful)?

No.

Shooting 43% from 16-23 ft as Avery Bradley did last year is actually excellent. It's about as good as Tony Parker and Steph Curry shot last year.

Whether that's a blip or part of a trend is to be determined of course, but the numbers from that range were good.

If you want to call his 3 point shooting god-awful, I won't argue with you.

[kozlodoev]

His regular-season shooting percentage on two-point jump shots has climbed from 22.0 to 37.8% to 39.5%.

Isn't this another way to say his shooting has leveled out at ~40% (which, by the way, is god-awful)?

No.

Shooting 43% from 16-23 ft as Avery Bradley did last year is actually excellent. It's about as good as Tony Parker and Steph Curry shot last year.

Whether that's a blip or part of a trend is to be determined of course, but the numbers from that range were good.

If you want to call his 3 point shooting god-awful, I won't argue with you.

I think his three-point shooting is better than his finishing at the rim (which has regressed steadily for the past 3 years).

[Boris Badenov]

His regular-season shooting percentage on two-point jump shots has climbed from 22.0 to 37.8% to 39.5%.

Isn't this another way to say his shooting has leveled out at ~40% (which, by the way, is god-awful)?

No.

Shooting 43% from 16-23 ft as Avery Bradley did last year is actually excellent. It's about as good as Tony Parker and Steph Curry shot last year.

Whether that's a blip or part of a trend is to be determined of course, but the numbers from that range were good.

If you want to call his 3 point shooting god-awful, I won't argue with you.

I think his three-point shooting is better than his finishing at the rim (which has regressed steadily for the past 3 years).

That too.

[Galeto]

Does Avery really have a lot of room to improve?  Besides his age, I don't see a lot of hope for optimism.  Has he even improved since entering the league?  He came in as a below-average ballhandler, finisher and passer and he still remains one in all those categories. 

His regular-season shooting percentage on two-point jump shots has climbed from 22.0 to 37.8% to 39.5%.  On two-point shots 16-feet and out, it has gone from 21.9% to 40.0% to 44.5%.

I think there is reason to be optimistic that his shooting numbers might be acceptable, so long as he isn't forced to play PG.

That 22 percent shooting in his rookie year came on 32 attempts.  He was never that bad of a shooter.  I don't think he improved to a 37.8 to 39.5 percent shooter, I think he always was one.  The strongest part of his game in high school was shooting mid-range jumpers off the dribble.

He's basically the same player he's always been.  That's how it is for most role players.