He is the kind of player ever gm and fan wants on their team...until he actually gets paid what he deserves. I liken it to the Brandon Bass situation.
I am a fan, though, and love him as a vet min guy moving forward (I know, unlikely).
No comparison.
Bass is an undersized power forward.
Crowder is a decent sized small forward.
I kind of meant that everybody will love Crowder until he is making 7 million / yr. Then we will still appreciate what he is doing, but will be desperate to move on from him and his contract before the ink even dries.
Bradley is undersized and thus overpaid.
Bass is undersized and thus overpaid.
Crowder is not undersized, so he is a better investment.
That's my point.
Just because someone is undersized doesn't mean he is overpaid. Barkley made a top 30 all time career being undersized. Bradley at 8 mil a year, especially considering where the cap is going, is not that bad an investment.
The folks here are way too harsh on Bradley and his contract. He's what, 23? He's not even in his prime yet, and even though I think his D has slipped a bit since he came in the league, it's no where near as big a problem as some make it out to be. 8 mil a year for a solid 3 and D guard who has an All-Defense team appearance at 23, can put up 15 Pts a game while shooting 40% from deep is not that bad a deal. People need to get off that train. I'd be willing to bet Danny gave him that envisioning him being a 6th man on his next contender.
Sorry for the rant, anyhow, I love this Crowder kid. Reminds me of a younger Crash. The scouting reports on this kid when we made the trade underestimate him. His hustle and tenacity alone is gonna earn him a spot in someone's rotation for quite a while. If he really develops that shot, he could be a nice player. We needs hold onto him for a bit and see what happens. Between him and Zeller I'm impressed with Danny's ability to see value in scraps.
I disagree. I would never have given Bradley a big contract.
I don't like undersized players. Bradley is not Charles Barkley.
8 Mil isn't exactly "big", especially considering its percentage of the overall payroll is gonna be even less than it is now in the coming years.
I don't mean to say he is Barkley, he's just an example of how being undersized is overcome when you have high quality, or in Barkley's case transcendent, NBA skills. Bradley has a deserved reputation as one of the leagues best perimeter defenders which is a highly sought after skill in today's NBA. And now he's developed his 3pt shot into something better than league average. Plus he's on 23. There's still room to grow.
I agree with the idea that he might be better served coming off the bench. But two years from now, assuming Bradley continues to develop, 8 mil for a 6th man who can lock down the opposing teams best guard and score 15 points given the shots still seems like a good deal.
If a player has a few very good NBA skills, be it top notch defense, a nose for rebounds, a deadly stroke, a knack for blocking shots, it shouldn't matter too much that their undersized. Especially when their only 23 and there is still room to get better. Bradley can play a very important role in the nba and play it well. His contract may not be a steal, even more so right now, but it's not this horrible disaster everyone makes it out to be. If we had a good team, he would be playing a very specific role for us instead of being one of the few people we have that might make a shot.