Avery Bradley & Celtics Agree to 4-year, $32 million contract

[NorthernLightning]

You guys are simply out of touch with what fair value is.

Just because you say a player is worth two dollars a year doesn't make it so.

Totally removed from the realities of the market, and the annually increasing salary cap, which just went up 5 million dollars.

[kozlodoev]

You guys are simply out of touch with what fair value is.

Just because you say a player is worth two dollars a year doesn't make it so.

Totally removed from the realities of the market, and the annually increasing salary cap, which just went up 5 million dollars.

Of course. We're out of touch, and NBA GMs never sign bad contracts. We're so lucky to have you here to enlighten us on this.

[Rondo9]

I'm tired of the Celtics paying everybody "fair" or above rates for value. Does anybody on the team not on their rookie deal perform above their salary? It's a huge advantage to sign guys to these kinds of deals if they can elevate to that next tier, but sometimes they just mediocre it up (Jeff Green) and never reach that level. Maybe Bradley can continue to improve and become like a Afflalo or Ariza-type tiered player, but his lack of prototypical height and constant injuries bother me.

I guess we could have predicted this because Ainge hates losing assets (again, Jeff Green). What's disappointing, deep down about this deal is that we know it means the Celtics are not going to be one of those flexible teams but rather one that is up to the cap every year and hoping for trades to land a superstar.

There is one positive way to look at it though, and that's after the new TV deal is signed the cap will expand a significant amount. An 8 million dollar deal today might very well become a mid-level contract in a few years. And I guess it's nice to reward Bradley for the work he put in towards improving his game and extrapolating that forward when estimating his worth.

I just wish that the Celtics would get a bargain once in awhile. It's not clear that at this figure Bradley could be traded at the drop of a hat if needs be, just like Green barely seems to get any interest on the trade market despite his supposed "fair" deal.

Green and Bradley are on fair deals. It's reported that if the Celtics trade Green that they would have some suitors lined up with offers.

[D.o.s.]

You guys are simply out of touch with what fair value is.

Just because you say a player is worth two dollars a year doesn't make it so.

Totally removed from the realities of the market, and the annually increasing salary cap, which just went up 5 million dollars.

Of course. We're out of touch, and NBA GMs never sign bad contracts. We're so lucky to have you here to enlighten us on this.

I'd like to request a 5 minute Draft Express video on the pros and cons of the NBA market.

[Casperian]

lol

You're a lucky man, Avery.

[fairweatherfan]

What's disappointing, deep down about this deal is that we know it means the Celtics are not going to be one of those flexible teams but rather one that is up to the cap every year and hoping for trades to land a superstar.

That's fair, but how many superstars actually change teams in FA anyway?  Especially to teams that were bad the year before?

Clearing max cap space is a lot more likely to let you sign Gordon Hayward or Greg Monroe than LeBron or Chris Paul.  When stars change teams it's usually via trade (Melo, CP3), occasionally signing or S+Ting with a team that has a lot of talent lined up already (Howard, LeBron), and almost never signing to a mid-lotto team that happened to have the money.

[86MaxwellSmart]

Hey, I like Bradley--even though he is by far the worst passer on this team...kinda strange, the timing of this deal though---either Ainge got faked out by another supposed offer to Avery--or The C's do have a deal lined up...We could have waited a bit to sign this particular deal--no--?

[fairweatherfan]

Hey, I like Bradley--even though he is by far the worst passer on this team...kinda strange, the timing of this deal though---either Ainge got faked out by another supposed offer to Avery--or The C's do have a deal lined up...We could have waited a bit to sign this particular deal--no--?

No one's signed anything.  We could easily delay formalizing the deal til some other dominoes fall for us.

[NorthernLightning]

You guys are simply out of touch with what fair value is.

Just because you say a player is worth two dollars a year doesn't make it so.

Totally removed from the realities of the market, and the annually increasing salary cap, which just went up 5 million dollars.

Of course. We're out of touch, and NBA GMs never sign bad contracts. We're so lucky to have you here to enlighten us on this.

If only you were serious, you'd be making progress.

[twistedrico]

You have to ignore some of things people are saying about this deal. This is a 23 year old lockdown defender whose offense continues to improve. To me its a no brainer to get him signed and 4 years is just the right length for his deal. He is very important to this team. I give the signing a thumbs up.

[Corey]

Man, there sure are a lot of annoyed fans here.

Anyways, a few things..

1) Green isn't terribly overpaid for his averages, but he's overpaid because he's inconsistent. If he went out and got 18 every single night instead of 36 followed by 10, 13...He'd be considered worth the money.

2) Avery is 23. At current talent level, he's slightly overpaid. Over the length of the deal, it will be pretty good value in my opinion. The way I look at it, if he stays healthy, is that you overpay for the first year to keep him, pay even value the second year, and pay even/GOOD value through years 3 and 4 if his development continues on it's current trend. He's improved his shot percentages at almost every zone on the floor, and that's while playing on an awful team and 70% of his time on the court at the PG, which is not natural for him.

Surround him with better pieces, dont force him to play the 1, and allow him to be a catch and shoot / focus on defense / occasionally create player and his offensive efficiency goes up ten fold.

3) Jodie Meeks just got 6.3 per year. Lance Stephenson just turned down 8.6 per year. I'll take Avery at 8 at 23 years old for the next four years over Meeks at 6.3 or Stephenson at 10+.

4) Continuity. This is so underrated in the NBA. Dont like the money "Just let 'em walk!". Good teams in the NBA that actually develop their talent (read: no superteams) benefit from continuity and keeping young players together for the long haul. We just drafted Smart (20), Young (18), got Bradley (23), Sully (22), Olynyk (23)....Let them grow together and see what you have before having another rotating door position.

Just calm down. We're not winning a title this year or next. The money doesn't matter right now, and by the time it does matter it will be even or good value.

Just appreciate the fact that the team is going about rebuilding the right way, and you get to see a defensive backcourt of Smart and Bradley terrorize opposing teams this season. It's going to be fun to watch the kids grow.

[kozlodoev]

You guys are simply out of touch with what fair value is.

Just because you say a player is worth two dollars a year doesn't make it so.

Totally removed from the realities of the market, and the annually increasing salary cap, which just went up 5 million dollars.

Of course. We're out of touch, and NBA GMs never sign bad contracts. We're so lucky to have you here to enlighten us on this.

If only you were serious, you'd be making progress.

Here's an NBA reality for you: the salary cap level has barely changed over the last five or so years. You can assume all you want about future increases, but the fact remains that nothing is guaranteed. This is still the largest single increase in the cap level since 05-06 (including one year when the cap actually dropped). But feel free to theorize.

[Casperian]

I do not understand why Ainge pays this money when he just drafted Marcus Smart to be his SG. Smart is a more well-rounded player and more talented prospect than Bradley is. Then Ainge has Rajon Rondo at PG; supposedly a player the team is building around. Why pay above average starter money to a backup defensive guard? Is Bradley insurance for one of Rondo/Smart being traded?

Well, Ainge called Smart a PG who can play some SG in pretty much every interview I've heard after the draft.

Make of it what you want.

[317]

the issue with thinking the cap will go up $3+ million every year it that it absolutely will not. yes it will go up again next year by a good amount, but then the owners will opt out of the current CBA after the 2016-17 season.

If one side opts out, it's going to be the players not the owners.  The owners got a rather one-sided deal last time and the players deserve to get back some of what they lost.

yes the owners won big, but NBA players have shown time and again that they are in general bad at saving up money. i could see the owners not opting out, but if the players opt out i think the small market owners, particularly Charlotte and Cleavland, will use that as an excuse to sit out half of a full season. they will wait for the majority of the players to run out of money, at which point the owners have all the leverage. unless the players association can get 75%+ of the players to save up enough money to be able to afford missing a full season of pay they will be taking a major risk opting out and i fully expect it will backfire on them.

[Waew]

This Bradley contract is meaningless. If he continues to improve it's a steal, and if he doesn't get any better or proves too injury prone it's a tradable expiring deal in three years. In those three years, there is little chance to win a title, so it's not like his money is tying up the missing piece to a championship run. You may as well spend the money on somebody, and a 23 year old elite defender with a constantly improving offensive game seems like a good place to hedge your bets. Also with the cap continuing to increase, combined with the market out there, this is probably fair money for any team paying him.