Rival execs believe AB will command between $7-9 million per season

[Rondo9]

$7 to 9 million is pretty much the going rate for a starting 2 guard in the league.  9 is probably high for Avery giving his injury history but you're not going to get ANYBODY decent for much less than 7.

You have to balance his injury history with him being a young player with upside.  He's going to be paid based on the very good chance that his production over the next few seasons will be better than this recent season.

I don't see AB improving much more...I think he's peaked.  He's definitely not worth $7-9mil.  Take the $7mil and pro-rate it based on the fact that he will probably only play 60 games per season and you will get his true worth...$5mil.   

Bradley is fresh off a career year in ppg and was a second team all nba defender. He's only 23 and is poised to get better. It's premature to declare a player peaked.

[Chris22]

Then let those fools pay him.

Amen, brother.

[dreamgreen]

No more than $6m for a small SG that can't stay healthy. Anything more is insane!

[Chris22]

No more than $6m for a small SG that can't stay healthy. Anything more is insane!

Let him walk.

Why would we want a small SG who can't shoot or stay healthy?

[P stoff]

A team with two good attackers / scorers or a post player who commands a double team would be a good fit for AB ... However 7-9 million for a defender and spot up shooter seems a bit much for a celtic team that can't create off the dribble or score consistently in the post.

That kind of money is better spent elsewhere IMO.

[Eja117]

http://www.masslive.com/celtics/index.ssf/2014/06/boston_celtics_rumors_2014_ave_1.html

Mannix reported Tuesday that rival executives think Bradley "could command a contract in the neighborhood of $7 million to $9 million per year." The Boston Celtics would have the option of matching any offer, but a salary that rich could leave them with a difficult decision. Three league sources agreed during separate conversations with MassLive.com that $6 million per season sounds about fair, but all it would take is one team willing to pay more.

Do you want Ainge to pay that to keep him?

Suuurrree they believe that.

[Eja117]

if a team pays him 9 mill then that is a team we should definitely be targeting for trades. A lot.

[Ogaju]

Rival execs can have HIM!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Queensdeep]

I think the real question about bradley is simple and straightforward - Is he a starting two guard on a contender?
The answer is NO. I like the guy, he plays hard, his defense is great (though it got worse last season) and his overall shooting has improved but he does not have the offensive capability at this point to be a starting caliber shooting guard on a top-tier team.

The most I'd do is sign him at $6 mil a year x3-4 years as a 3rd guard.

[saltlover]

So in just a few years we will  have allowed contributors/assets Tony Allen, Ray Allen, Avery Bradley, James Posey, Eddie House, Leon Powe, Nenad Krstic, Greg Stiemsma, Keyon Dooling, and Mike Pietrus all leave with no compensation whatsoever.

I know we could have gotten something only for Ray and Tony, Avery and maybe Stiemsma, but I'd prefer we start getting something in return rather than letting guys walk

We never could have gotten anything for Stiemsma.  He was signed to a rookie minimum contract for one year.  We couldn't sign-and-trade him the following offseason because he signed for more money than we could pay him via salary cap rules.

Also, the Celtics still hold Krstic's Bird rights.  If he comes back to the US, the Celtics will have an opportunity to sign him and be over the cap.  Of course, he's the highest paid player in Europe, and makes about $8 million equivalent, but he didn't just walk away.  Some of those other guys you're concerned about, like Powe and Pietrus, didn't really do much after leaving.

[celticslove]

$9m worth of glass? i say let the knicks have him

[BballTim]

I think the real question about bradley is simple and straightforward - Is he a starting two guard on a contender?
The answer is NO. I like the guy, he plays hard, his defense is great (though it got worse last season) and his overall shooting has improved but he does not have the offensive capability at this point to be a starting caliber shooting guard on a top-tier team.

  He was the starting two guard on a team that went to game 7 of the conference finals a couple of years ago. Obviously he's capable of doing what he's already done.

[crimson_stallion]

I think he has too much injury history to book his full value, and as a 3-and-D player that would really be his full value right there. That's Aaron Afflalo's money.

I don't see Bradley as a "3 and D" player at all. I think he's got the potential to be much more than that.

I see Battier and Bruce Bowen as "3 and D" players.  They literally had no skiils outside of defence and spot-up threes.

Bradley is a borderline elite athlete.  He moves very well without the ball and is highly skilled as a cutter.  He's got a very capable pull-up jumper from midrange.  He's now capable of creating his own shot with some consistency.

Then on top of that, take a look at how far he improved as a player last season.  He just went from a pure defensive role player (who was considered a  major liability) to the Celtics' #2 scoring option in the space of one season, and his nice shooting percentages were proof that those scoring numbers weren't purely the result of lots of touches on a bad team. 

Bradley pretty much redefined who he is as a player with the offensive improvements he made last season, yet he's still only 22 years old - who knows how good he could be a couple of years from now IF he stays healthy.

Really there are only two things holding back Bradley's value on the open market:
1) His lack of effectivess at the PG spot (which limits his flexibility)
2) His injury history

If you look at the player he is right now (15 PPG, 46%/40%/80% shooting, former All-Defensive 2nd team) that's already about an $8M/year player. 

His injury history will certainly bring that down, probably to around $5M or $6M/year. 

Now factor in his upside.  Considering his long wingspan, his athletic ability and the fact that he's only 22 years old, he already had high potential.  The dramatic improvements he made to his offensive game last season have just pushed that potential even further.   That upside pushes his value up, probably back up to the $7m - $8m range.

I don't think Bradley will be offered $9m to be honest, but an offer in the $7m-$8m range wouldn't surprise me at all given that his potential presents an opportunity which pretty much offsets any risk that is presentd by his injury history.

I don't see any reason to believe Bradley can't be as good as (or better than) Afflalo a year or two from now.  Afflalo had a breakout season last year that surprised a lot of people, but before that he was pretty much living in a shadow.  I think there is a very legitimate possiblity that Bradley breaks out in a very similar way much sooner than many people think.   

[Fafnir]

7-9 per year is paying a whole lot for potential with Bradley. I don't think he gets an offer that big, but RFA leads to some weird deals. Both too small and too big for a player.

[crimson_stallion]

I think the real question about bradley is simple and straightforward - Is he a starting two guard on a contender?
The answer is NO. I like the guy, he plays hard, his defense is great (though it got worse last season) and his overall shooting has improved but he does not have the offensive capability at this point to be a starting caliber shooting guard on a top-tier team.

  He was the starting two guard on a team that went to game 7 of the conference finals a couple of years ago. Obviously he's capable of doing what he's already done.

Exactly - the premise that Bradley can't be a starting 2 guard on a top-tier team is garbage.  Battier was a starting PF for Miami when they knocked us out of the conference finals a couple of years ago.  Bruce Bowen was a starting SF when the Spurs were dominating the league.  Dennis Rodman was one of the most critical pieces on some of  Jordan's championship teams.

You don't need to be a great offensive player to have a massive impact on a team.  Bradley was huge for us two season's back.  He was huge in the Philly and Atlanta series' and played an instrumental role in the us winning those two rounds and moving on to the ECF.  Many beieve that had he played in that ECF series against the Heat (which was already a tigher series than it had any right to be) the outcome of that series may have been very different.

Guys that play with AB's level of effort, hustle and energy tend to be the type of guys that change the outcome of a game...sometimes even a series.  Now he's also dramatically improved his offenive game (17 points per 36 last season). 

Avery Bradley could be a HUGE piece on a high calibre playoff team.