rivers looks like a bit of a bust. I could see Bradley for Rivers... Boston probably wants to avoid paying Bradley. Rivers is young enough that he could still have a career.
Lol. Sometimes I just can't. Please help me make it through trade season Lord. Just no. NO.
Well I mean at first glance it's a ridiculous trade. Clearly Bradley is vastly superior to Rivers right now. Rivers first 76 games have been nothing short of catastrophic.
But Rivers was thought to be one of the best players in his draft class. At one point he was pegged as a "future star". He was a top 10 pick. He's been dreadful...
hence why he's available. Generally, superstar young players who are playing like superstars can't be had for nickles. You gotta take some risks and roll some dice. Think of Rivers value as someone like Thomas Robinson or Derrick Williams... terrible starts to their career, but still have lingering value from their potential. Rivers is only 21 years old and someone probably worth taking a gamble on for the right price. The draw of his "potential" probably will not fade for at least 2 more years. And you have to pay for that kind of potential. A year ago, the thought of trading a mediocre player like Bradley for a potential future star was a laughable concept. Bradley has proven to be a capable young player though (with a ceiling that he's likely reached)... and Rivers has been awful. The combination of those two situations makes such a deal plausible.
Then when you consider the fact that Bradley is a restricted free agent this offseason and Boston probably has little interest in tying him up to big money... while Rivers is still on his rookie deal for 3 years, it makes a lot more sense.
I'm not saying Rivers is better than Bradley. I'm saying that Rivers probably still has a higher ceiling than Bradley and Boston probably doesn't want to pay big money to a role player like Bradley.