NBA Trade Grades: Celtics to unload Avery Bradley to Pistons
To clear cap space for Gordon Hayward, the Boston Celtics are sending Avery Bradley to the Detroit Pistons for Marcus Morris. Here are NBA Trade Grades for both sides.
Despite agreeing to a four-year, $128 million deal with Gordon Hayward, the Boston Celtics still had work to do in order to create enough cap space to actually sign their star acquisition. Thanks to a deal with the Detroit Pistons, it looks like the runway has been cleared.
As first reported by ESPN‘s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Celtics have agreed to send shooting guard Avery Bradley to the Motor City. According to The Vertical‘s Shams Charania, the deal will send Marcus Morris to Beantown, while the Pistons will also pocket a 2019 second round pick.
By sending Bradley’s $8.8 million deal to Detroit, the Celtics clear $3.8 million in salary, since Marcus Morris is owed only $5 million for the upcoming season.
According to ESPN‘s Bobby Marks, that gives them $30.8 million in cap room — enough for Hayward’s $29.7 million starting salary — while also leaving them the $4.3 million room mid-level exception.
For the Pistons, this deal provides three-point shooting and perimeter defense, while obviously calling Kentavious Caldwell-Pope‘s free agency landing spot into question.
The bigger question is, how did both teams fare in this exchange? To sort it out, here are NBA Trade Grades for each side.