Boston Celtics Should Trade Avery Bradley

With a pivotal summer ahead for the team, and a veteran shooting guard with more value than ever, it’s time for the Boston Celtics to trade Avery Bradley.

Boston Celtics shooting guard Avery Bradley was named First-Team All-Defense for the first time in his NBA career on Wednesday afternoon.

If the Celtics were not going to trade him before, they should without a doubt strike now.

Bradley has held plenty of value throughout the course of his first six seasons in the NBA.

Known as a defensive stalwart when he entered the league in 2010 after his lone season at the University of Texas, Bradley was hoping to ride his esteemed high-school career and his decent college season with the Longhorns into early NBA success.

At first, Bradley was successful in his quest, as he unseated veteran sharpshooter Ray Allen from his spot in the starting lineup in just his second season in the league.

It was a bold move by then-Celtics head coach Doc Rivers, as he took a gamble on the young defensive bulldog with the team in the midst of a playoff push.

Even after Allen departed, Bradley still found his way into the starting five for the Celtics.

Whether it be through playing off the ball at shooting guard, or sharing the point guard duties with oft-injured former All-Star Rajon Rondo, Bradley’s offensive shortcomings were not enough to hamper his chances of significant playing time, as his defense was just that good.

But then, there were the injuries. Bradley overcame surgeries on his ankles and both shoulders, each of which cost him significant time in the 2012-13 and 2013-14 campaigns.

All of a sudden, once he was unable to remain on the court for long stretches of time, the grumblings about his offensive woes became more of a widely discussed issue.

Nov 18, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Celtics center Jared Sullinger (7) and guard Avery Bradley (0) react to a play against the Dallas Mavericks in the second quarter at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports /

And rightfully so. Bradley shot just 31 percent from beyond the arc in the 2012-13 campaign and averaged a mere 9.2 points per game in nearly 30 minutes of game action.

To his credit, in the 2013-14 season, Bradley started out with much better numbers until his injury, as he improved to a 40 percent shooter from three-point land, while averaging 14.9 points per game in a similar sample size of minutes.

After the season, Celtics general manager Danny Ainge had seen enough.

Even though the frustration of the fan base had grown louder due to the litany of injuries that the young Bradley had already sustained, Ainge offered Bradley a four-year contract extension, worth $32 million over the life of the deal.

At $8 million per year, it was perceived as a vast overpay for the return on investment, seeing as though Bradley was struggling to stay on the hardwood.

As we know now in 2016, with the NBA’s new television deal preparing to blow the top off of the current salary cap, Bradley’s deal is now a bargain.

Not only has Bradley stayed healthy for the Celtics over the past two regular seasons, but he has continued on his upward trajectory, which climaxed this season with a career-high 15.2 points per game on 45 percent shooting, including a modest 36 percent mark from beyond-the-arc.

Despite a hamstring injury that caused him to miss the final handful of games in the Celtics first-round series against the Atlanta Hawks, Bradley’s play both offensively and defensively, sealed by his First-Team All-Defense selection, should be enough for the Celtics to strike while the iron is hot this summer.

With the rebuilding process at a crossroads, the backcourt as crowded as ever, and Bradley coming off of his best season as a professional, the Celtics must maximize their return, much like they did when they signed Bradley two seasons ago.

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The opportunities are endless for Boston. Danny Ainge has spoken at length about developing the “next great Celtics team”, and he will not be able to build that roster without moving one of his young, valuable assets.

Outside of Jae Crowder and Isaiah Thomas, who better to try to swing in a deal than a defensive game-changer like Bradley?

Look, Bradley is as expendable as an All-Defensive selection can be. A bigger, stronger, faster, player in Marcus Smart is waiting in the wings for his chance to be a full-time starter in the NBA.

Sure, Smart has struggled from the three-point line throughout his first two full seasons in the NBA, as he has shot just 29.4 percent overall from deep.

However, Smart quelled some of the notions that he couldn’t ever develop as an outside shooter in this year’s playoffs, as he filled in for Bradley to average 12.0 points per game on nearly 35 percent shooting.

Additionally, Marcus Smart’s best trait as an offensive player has been his ability to score off the bounce and drive to the basket. He’s gotten better at settling less for jump shots and instead using his size, speed, and strength to score in the paint.

Bradley has been able to score at the rim as well in the past, but with a smaller body type that has been more apt to injury over the course of his first six seasons, it has become more and more obvious that the playing style is not, and will not, be suitable for Bradley long-term.