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

[NorthernLightning]

No matter what this roster looks like by the end of October no one will be happy on this board.
whine, whine, whine and when we make the playoffs everyone will do a 180!!!

Danny sucks now but tomorrow he will be everyone's super hero

Yup. Turns out two great draft picks, a healthy team mvp, and not tanking adds a lot of wins to a team.

[SHAQATTACK]

How many games will he play before he is hurt?

Never resign injury prone players in the pro anything of sports.

[Jailan34]

How many games will he play before he is hurt?

Never resign injury prone players in the pro anything of sports.

I know he is injured a lot and slightly over payed but Avery is a young good player who hopefully improves his overall game and the contract becomes a steal.

[cman88]

I think what danny is paying for is for future value. Right now he might be slightly overpaid, but he is only 23 years old and has improved each year in the league offensively and is still one of the best perimeter defenders.

Danny might be banking that he will eventually be a 17ppg - 18ppg scorer

or, maybe danny views him as someone of value that he can move in a trade for someone like a Kevin Love etc. Guards seem to be paid alot these days

[LarBrd33]

I think what danny is paying for is for future value. Right now he might be slightly overpaid, but he is only 23 years old and has improved each year in the league offensively and is still one of the best perimeter defenders.

Danny might be banking that he will eventually be a 17ppg - 18ppg scorer

or, maybe danny views him as someone of value that he can move in a trade for someone like a Kevin Love etc. Guards seem to be paid alot these days

I think he was just trying to prevent one of our few "assets" leaving for nothing.

17-18ppg for Bradley?  If we keep Rondo.... does that mean Smart is a long-term backup?

[Beat LA]

Okay, someone's going to have to explain to me the logic in resigning Bradley when we drafted Marcus Smart.  I'm confused.

NBA teams give minutes to more than 3 guards, and rookies are often not ready to consistently contribute.

True, but we're not contending, so the idea is to develop the talent we have, and Smart looks NBA ready, at least in terms of his body.  Young might take a bit longer, but they both need to get plenty of minutes - consistent minutes - to grow on the court.  I like Avery, but unless he figures out how to stay on the court, dribble, and pass, I don't see him being better than Smart.  Didn't he have a streak last year of 5 games without an assist?   That's, just, wow.

[cman88]

I think what danny is paying for is for future value. Right now he might be slightly overpaid, but he is only 23 years old and has improved each year in the league offensively and is still one of the best perimeter defenders.

Danny might be banking that he will eventually be a 17ppg - 18ppg scorer

or, maybe danny views him as someone of value that he can move in a trade for someone like a Kevin Love etc. Guards seem to be paid alot these days

I think he was just trying to prevent one of our few "assets" leaving for nothing.

17-18ppg for Bradley?  If we keep Rondo.... does that mean Smart is a long-term backup?

actually I would agree with your first statement. Bradley is an "asset" and with teams going guard crazy could provide value in a trade for a star.

[celticsfan8591]

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.

It's true that Avery might at some point be an $8m/year player, but the fact that he isn't right now means we paid more than we had to.  Every dollar counts in a league with a salary cap.  No, an additional 2 million dollars a year in the grand scheme of things isn't crazy, but there's an opportunity cost there of not being able to offer as much to future free agents.  And the Celtics had all the leverage here; it's not like Stephenson or Meeks where another team could just steal them away.  Even if Avery got annoyed and signed an offer sheet with another team, we could have matched it.  He wasn't going to get more than what we just gave him.  The most likely scenario would have been that teams with cap space would have gravitated toward unrestricted free agents and Avery would have had no choice but to either take a lesser offer or sign the qualifying offer (unlikely given his injury history).

[RRNoLookPass]

The dude made All-Defensive team (2nd), averaged 15ppg as a 23 year-old, and shot 40% on 3PTs. Everyone is entitled to their theories about how to build a team or which players are worth the money, but the market for Bradley was at *least* a $32M deal. It looks like Gordon Hayward is about to make twice as much as a 3rd banana who can't defend.

but you gotta take those numbers and subtract 25% because he's usually pretty lucky to make it through 75% of a season.

Interesting, cause you don't hear people making that argument against Chris Paul and his max contract when he's injured. He missed 20 games this season, half a season in New Orleans, and has never played an entire season in his life. Not 82, and not 66.

But let's dwell on how often Bradley gets injured. Give the kid a chance. It's only his 5th season coming up, and guys that play insanely intense defense tend to get injured a bit more often, due to sacrificing their bodies more than guys who don't D up. Remember Tony Allen?

[Monkhouse]

The dude made All-Defensive team (2nd), averaged 15ppg as a 23 year-old, and shot 40% on 3PTs. Everyone is entitled to their theories about how to build a team or which players are worth the money, but the market for Bradley was at *least* a $32M deal. It looks like Gordon Hayward is about to make twice as much as a 3rd banana who can't defend.

but you gotta take those numbers and subtract 25% because he's usually pretty lucky to make it through 75% of a season.

Interesting, cause you don't hear people making that argument against Chris Paul and his max contract when he's injured. He missed 20 games this season, half a season in New Orleans, and has never played an entire season in his life. Not 82, and not 66.

But let's dwell on how often Bradley gets injured. Give the kid a chance. It's only his 5th season coming up, and guys that play insanely intense defense tend to get injured a bit more often, due to sacrificing their bodies more than guys who don't D up. Remember Tony Allen?

Regardless of his injury history, CP3 is a first ballot HoF...

Hes also one of the best point guards in the league... Bradley is a great 3 and D type of guy, so I don't mind the re-signing. I just wish there were team/player options, or bonuses dependent upon Bradley remaining healthy.

[beantownboy171]

Several thoughts on the Bradley signing:

- When you consider what went into these negotiations, and how we ended up at this $8 million number, remember you don't know what other offers were out there for Avery. If we had waited too long, hoping to bargain down to 6 or 7 million per, there was the potential another team swoops in and offer Bradley 9-10 million. That most certainly WOULD be an overpay for Bradley's services. But often times restricted free agents get over-paid, because other teams feel like they have to make a big offer to keep their former team from matching their offer. Once a player signs an inflated offer sheet, its that # or bust. It was pretty important in this negotiation to act fast.

- He certainly isn't a bargain, however his contract is very trade-able, imo. If Bradley proves to be a starting caliber SG. He'll be 24, and on a affordable contract for the bulk of his prime playing years. As we learned this year with the Kevin Love negotiations, teams want more than paper assets (draft picks, rookies, cleared cap space). They wanted proven commodities. If another star player becomes available, and bradley is healthy, average 16 ppg and back to playing quality defense.. he could become valuable in trade negotiations.

- Rajon Rondo Insurance: If we have to trade Rondo, we never know what the return will be. Without Rondo, I think Smart/Bradley could be a quality backcourt for a long time.

- That being said though, Rondo/Smart/Bradley are a pretty special group of guards if we keep this group together. They bring a defensive edge (Smart/Bradley) and a mental edge (Rondo/Smart) that will make this group unique and interesting to watch play. I think Avery Bradley is the PERFECT 6th man. 3 & D + tremendous hustle.
 
- He's actually a pretty great fit with Marcus Smart. When the two play together Smart will run the point on offense, with Bradley playing off the ball. But on DEFENSE Bradley can guard the point guard (where he thrived, built his reputation) and Smart can guard the SG (who he can overmatch physically). Defensively that unit can be special. Imagine Avery pressuring the ball full court, with Marcus Smart lurking around the passing lanes, waiting to pounce.

[Chris22]

I would have let Bradley walk and gone after Hill or Monroe.

[BudweiserCeltic]

I would have let Bradley walk and gone after Hill or Monroe.

Both are irrelevant to keeping Bradley.

[Chris22]

I would have let Bradley walk and gone after Hill or Monroe.

Both are irrelevant to keeping Bradley.

Not if you are writing the checks!

[BudweiserCeltic]

I would have let Bradley walk and gone after Hill or Monroe.

Both are irrelevant to keeping Bradley.

Not if you are writing the checks!

Keeping Bradley has ZERO impact on going after Hill. And the only way Monroe was going to land with us (if desired) was via a S&T, which means salary would be out going as well.

So it's a futile exercise to link these events in any shape or form.