Very disappointed in Bradley

[Chris22]

I never understood Ainge signing Bradley to a big contract.

He is too weak to play the two, and he can't dribble well enough to play the point.

[Nerf DPOY]

Arron Afflalo this year --- 15 ppg on 43/34/84 3.5 rb, 2.8 ast. and thought to be a decent defender. He's making ~ 7,750,000 this year with a PO for 7,775,000 in '15-16. Statistically he's a very similar player to Bradley with a very similar salary. Granted, he signed that deal after '10-11, but as things have turned out this is what Afflalo makes and these are his numbers, surrounded by better players than AB is. Bradley is not drastically overpaid, and will not be what  prevents us from signing two max players this summer. A hundred other factors will. So go pound sand.

This is nothing new. Every struggling team's fans seem to come down hardest on the players making vet money who aren't all-star caliber, and they also typically blame the coach for not allotting playing time exactly how they would have after the game with the benefit of hindsight. This blog is no different.

[SHAQATTACK]

Rondos not here

AB turn for hate threads

[Neurotic Guy]

Before Brian Scalabrine became everyone's favorite ex-Celtic, he was bashed relentlessly fro being overpaid.  He was making about $3M (if memory serves) at the time and he was producing next to nothing.  In his best year in boston (2006-7) he averaged 4 pts and 1.9 rpg in about 20 MPG.   I argued then that even though it may be true that Scal is overpaid, it was also true that it was no big deal -- meaning that the small waste in money was not going to hamper the C's moving forward.  I say the same thing about AB.  His 7.2M salary is slightly high, I think, but considering that he is a 24 year old averaging 13 ppg, it's really not an abomination.  Further, the contract is movable -- and may actually prove needed if the C's are at some point in need of salary for matching purposes.   Packaged with picks, AB has value, and as each upcoming year comes off his contract, his movability probably becomes greater.  There is also still a possibility that AB becomes a player whose value exceeds his contract. 

Remember those screaming endlessly about Jeff Green's contract?  Evventually, he was movable and eventually he looked like a player who was paid about right for what he was producing.

[ssspence]

Can we get you a Kleenex?

[mctyson]

I never understood Ainge signing Bradley to a big contract.

3 years from now $8 mill for a 27 year old AB will be a steal...for any team that has him.

[Granath]

Arron Afflalo this year --- 15 ppg on 43/34/84 3.5 rb, 2.8 ast. and thought to be a decent defender. He's making ~ 7,750,000 this year with a PO for 7,775,000 in '15-16. Statistically he's a very similar player to Bradley with a very similar salary. Granted, he signed that deal after '10-11, but as things have turned out this is what Afflalo makes and these are his numbers, surrounded by better players than AB is. Bradley is not drastically overpaid, and will not be what  prevents us from signing two max players this summer. A hundred other factors will. So go pound sand.

This is nothing new. Every struggling team's fans seem to come down hardest on the players making vet money who aren't all-star caliber, and they also typically blame the coach for not allotting playing time exactly how they would have after the game with the benefit of hindsight. This blog is no different.

The criticism is justified. Bradley has taken a step back this year. You're right, he's not drastically overpaid but he is overpaid for his current production. He was paid, in part, on his improvement continuing. Instead, he's regressed. That's a pretty fair criticism. The one thing you can say is at least he hasn't been hurt.

Also, did anyone say that he would prevent the Celtics from signing 2 max deals? I might have missed that - or are you just inventing arguments no one is stating?

[Rondo9]

Arron Afflalo this year --- 15 ppg on 43/34/84 3.5 rb, 2.8 ast. and thought to be a decent defender. He's making ~ 7,750,000 this year with a PO for 7,775,000 in '15-16. Statistically he's a very similar player to Bradley with a very similar salary. Granted, he signed that deal after '10-11, but as things have turned out this is what Afflalo makes and these are his numbers, surrounded by better players than AB is. Bradley is not drastically overpaid, and will not be what  prevents us from signing two max players this summer. A hundred other factors will. So go pound sand.

This is nothing new. Every struggling team's fans seem to come down hardest on the players making vet money who aren't all-star caliber, and they also typically blame the coach for not allotting playing time exactly how they would have after the game with the benefit of hindsight. This blog is no different.

The criticism is justified. Bradley has taken a step back this year. You're right, he's not drastically overpaid but he is overpaid for his current production. He was paid, in part, on his improvement continuing. Instead, he's regressed. That's a pretty fair criticism. The one thing you can say is at least he hasn't been hurt.

Also, did anyone say that he would prevent the Celtics from signing 2 max deals? I might have missed that - or are you just inventing arguments no one is stating?

Is it justified if people keep saying it over and over and over again? Especially when they conviently ignore his good games?

[Granath]

Arron Afflalo this year --- 15 ppg on 43/34/84 3.5 rb, 2.8 ast. and thought to be a decent defender. He's making ~ 7,750,000 this year with a PO for 7,775,000 in '15-16. Statistically he's a very similar player to Bradley with a very similar salary. Granted, he signed that deal after '10-11, but as things have turned out this is what Afflalo makes and these are his numbers, surrounded by better players than AB is. Bradley is not drastically overpaid, and will not be what  prevents us from signing two max players this summer. A hundred other factors will. So go pound sand.

This is nothing new. Every struggling team's fans seem to come down hardest on the players making vet money who aren't all-star caliber, and they also typically blame the coach for not allotting playing time exactly how they would have after the game with the benefit of hindsight. This blog is no different.

The criticism is justified. Bradley has taken a step back this year. You're right, he's not drastically overpaid but he is overpaid for his current production. He was paid, in part, on his improvement continuing. Instead, he's regressed. That's a pretty fair criticism. The one thing you can say is at least he hasn't been hurt.

Also, did anyone say that he would prevent the Celtics from signing 2 max deals? I might have missed that - or are you just inventing arguments no one is stating?

Is it justified if people keep saying it over and over and over again? Especially when they conviently ignore his good games?

If he's playing like crap, it's justified.

I'm sure that there are a few people who relish in every miss by Avery, but they're pretty few and far between. It's not like there are 50 page threads of "I hate Avery Bradley and hope his weenie falls out" or anything like that. So yeah, you're going to see someone complaining when Bradley puts up another boner game - something he's done far too frequently this year already. It's kind of natural. I don't think his detractors are ignoring his good games. I think they see them as an aberration.

Note that the tone of your comment reminds me of how quick people here are to call someone a hater. You did not do this directly, so I'm not stating this about your post. Just the tone is similar to "you're a hater" posts. The hater aspect of Celtics Blog is woefully overblown. For instance, every time someone made a rational argument about the flaws in Rondo's game - or even simply said that the team would be better off long-term if he were traded - instantly the defenders would start labeling that person a "hater". If I were to post a thread that said that Rondo's assists were down and he's only shooting 30% from the free throw line post trade, I'm sure I would be labeled a Rondo hater despite the Rondo jersey in my son's closet that I purchased two years ago for him.

I think the OP chose their words carefully about Bradley. They didn't claim he couldn't play. They said they were disappointed. Can anyone really say they're not disappointed by Bradley's regressive performance this year, even if there's still hope he turns it around?

[Chris22]

I never understood Ainge signing Bradley to a big contract.

3 years from now $8 mill for a 27 year old AB will be a steal...for any team that has him.

Want to bet?

[makaveli]

I never understood Ainge signing Bradley to a big contract.

3 years from now $8 mill for a 27 year old AB will be a steal...for any team that has him.

Want to bet?

he will be a good trade asset.
to comment the OP, I feel the same way, dude is jumpshot, after jumpshot, and i wouldn't mind that if he kept his word and make his prime goal the NBA 1st Defense team. Right now, his grind down, in your face defense, that made us all fall in love with him is nowhere to be seen.

[Nerf DPOY]

Also, did anyone say that he would prevent the Celtics from signing 2 max deals? I might have missed that - or are you just inventing arguments no one is stating?

Here's a salary cap thread where it's pondered on. A post that suggests moving Bradley would enable us to sign two max FA's is at the bottom of page 2, and is then discussed further.

http://forums.celticsblog.com/index.php?topic=75356.15

Here's a thread days later advocating dumping Bradley with Wallace for the sake of cap space.

http://forums.celticsblog.com/index.php?topic=75599.0

The notion of signing max players with the space is spoken about as being unrealistic. I remember these threads because I posted in both of them, but I'm sure there must be others where it's suggested. The regret over Bradley's deal and the speculation that we could clear space to sign max FA's is not something I conjured out of thin air.

Edit: And then this one where the question is literally asked

http://forums.celticsblog.com/index.php?topic=75704.0

[guava_wrench]

I't couldn't have been any sooner after he signed that contract that Averly Bradley started playing like crap again. these lazy passes and haunting missed layups are just too hard to watch!!!  I really liked this guy and thought he was going to be a nice piece for this team moving forward.  it's now looking like a bunch of these pieces are shaky at best.  we need some proven talent, quickly!!!

At the time I thought the 32k over 4 years and the cap hit were fine but not the way this guy is playing!!!

The bad passing was always there. He could just avoid facilitating with Rondo around. He has consistently had a hard time getting the ball to go where he wants it to, whether to a guy in the post, to a guy on the break, or to a guy on the perimeter. If you remember the TA at PG experiments back in the day, TA was sketchy, but he could deliver the ball to guys really well off of penetration.

If you are going to pass as poorly as Bradley, you better shoot like House so there is no need for you to give up the ball.

Bradley has been aggressive in getting his midrange jumper off the dribble. While the move looks nice, he shoots that shoot at a much lower percentage than other guys who take that move as aggressively as he does. I am fine with him continuing to try the move if the coaching staff believes he has it in him, but it is ugly.

[DesertDweller]

So once he's slumping it's back to bashing I guess.....

When is he not slumping?

TP (yeah, I hand them out freely).

Pretty much this.

Look, I've been a Bradley defender here and elsewhere for quite some time. I repeatedly defended his new contract. But facts are facts and 38 games into the 2014-2015 NBA season, Bradley isn't playing well. He's not a good ball handler and he doesn't rebound, so his scoring and his defense were his two assets.

Defense: This has always been Bradley's claim to fame, but he's not the same player. His lockdown defense isn't there anymore. I understand that might have something to do with the lack of support behind him, meaning he can't take as many chances. But I don't see the same defensive effort or emphasis. He's certainly not a bad defensive player, but he doesn't really earn his "defensive premium" on his contract nearly as much as expected.

Scoring: This is the big disappointment. Bradley improved his offensive statistics every year since he entered the league. Scoring, EFG, 3 point percentage...it was all headed in the right direction. That potential made the Bradley contract acceptable. With no #1 scorer, Bradley has had the opportunity to step up except he's stepped back. His scoring is down (14.9 to 12.8 ), his EFG is the same, his 3 point shooting is down considerably (.395 to .349) and he hasn't picked it up in any other way (rebounds are down, assists the same, steals down).
+
In short, he's regressed in almost every single way this season. It's not bashing, it's a demonstrable fact. He doesn't really look like a starter and he's not really earning his contract very well. It's not too late for him to turn it around because he's only 24. But I think the OP is right - Bradley has been a disappointment this season. There's nothing wrong with saying that.

I am so relieved that someone else saw the difference between, "being disappointed" and "bashing the guy".  and someone else who sarcastically said "just what we needed, another Bradley post", which, by looking at some of these remarks, we certainly do!!!
believe me, there is nothing I want to see more than Bradley play up to the way I know he can, so we can get this show back on the road and the rest of this team on track.

[2short]

I't couldn't have been any sooner after he signed that contract that Averly Bradley started playing like crap again. these lazy passes and haunting missed layups are just too hard to watch!!!  I really liked this guy and thought he was going to be a nice piece for this team moving forward.  it's now looking like a bunch of these pieces are shaky at best.  we need some proven talent, quickly!!!

At the time I thought the 32k over 4 years and the cap hit were fine but not the way this guy is playing!!!

The bad passing was always there. He could just avoid facilitating with Rondo around. He has consistently had a hard time getting the ball to go where he wants it to, whether to a guy in the post, to a guy on the break, or to a guy on the perimeter. If you remember the TA at PG experiments back in the day, TA was sketchy, but he could deliver the ball to guys really well off of penetration.

If you are going to pass as poorly as Bradley, you better shoot like House so there is no need for you to give up the ball.

Bradley has been aggressive in getting his midrange jumper off the dribble. While the move looks nice, he shoots that shoot at a much lower percentage than other guys who take that move as aggressively as he does. I am fine with him continuing to try the move if the coaching staff believes he has it in him, but it is ugly.

tp for some overlooked things by many:
TA was sketchy, but he could deliver the ball to guys really well off of penetration.

If you are going to pass as poorly as Bradley, you better shoot like House so there is no need for you to give up the ball.

both those sg had bad handles, eddie could shoot lights out and stretch the floor
tony could drive and play 3 position defense

course the way the season is going it looks like it'll be down to bradley or sully for mvp of team