NBA Trade Grades: Celtics to unload Avery Bradley to Pistons
Detroit Pistons
With the Celtics searching for trade partners to unload Avery Bradley, Jae Crowder or Marcus Smart, the Pistons were wise to swoop in and emerge with one of the league’s best two-way players at shooting guard.
Though Bradley will be an unrestricted free agent next summer, he’s still only 26 years old and represents a vast upgrade over Kentavious Caldwell-Pope now that the team will renounce his rights and make him an unrestricted free agent.
Detroit is renouncing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, league source tells ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 7, 2017
That was almost certain to be the case, as ESPN‘s Bobby Marks reported that if another team came in with an offer for KCP greater than $16.5 million, Detroit would have either had to clear more cap space to match or just let him walk.
After drafting Luke Kennard and signing Langston Galloway into an increasingly crowded backcourt, the writing was on the wall for Caldwell-Pope.
With KCP gone, Pistons fans may be hoping for a Bradley extension. But as Marks notes, he can only earn a five percent raise off his 2017-18 salary ($8.8 million) during the next six months. Since he’ll be sure to command a more lucrative contract in free agency next summer and have plenty of suitors, it seems unlikely that he’d opt for an extension with the Pistons beforehand.
Avery Bradley will be UFA next summer. Pistons don’t have room to renegotiate his $8.8M salary, and 1st-year of extension limited to $10.6M.
— Albert Nahmad (@AlbertNahmad) July 7, 2017
Avery Bradley is extension eligible but Detroit can only add two years, $19M ($9.5M per) to his contract for the next 6 months.
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) July 7, 2017
After 6 months the Pistons can extend Bradley but only four-years at $47.4M. The $10.5M salary in 18-19 is 120% of his $8.8M current salary.
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) July 7, 2017
That makes this deal slightly risky for Detroit, who just sacrificed their chance at retaining KCP for a one-year Avery Bradley rental. However, Bradley is unquestionably the better player between the two, and the Pistons desperately need three-point shooting after finishing 26th in three-point attempts, 27th in three-point makes and 28th in three-point percentage last year.
Bradley is a career 36.6 percent shooter from downtown and is coming off a season in which he averaged a career-high 16.3 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game on 39 percent shooting from deep (on 5.0 attempts per game, no less).
Avery Bradley--an incredibly valuable player--always seemed most likely to go post-Hayward. Will command a big contract next summer.
— Chris Mannix (@SIChrisMannix) July 7, 2017
Caldwell-Pope, 24, was pegged as a 3-and-D player of the future, but wasn’t really living up to that billing through his first four seasons in the league. Though his defense is superb as one of the few defenders in the association capable of holding his own against Stephen Curry, KCP shot just 39.9 percent from the field en route to 13.4 points per game last season, with his 35 percent efficiency from downtown being a career-high.
Bradley still defends at an All-Defensive team level and he will spread the floor more effectively in Motown. If the Pistons can put together a successful season, perhaps they could clear out the necessary cap room and convince him to stay.
If they don’t though, they also had to give up Marcus Morris, whose true value lies in his cheap contract. Morris is a solid, versatile player on one of the most team-friendly contracts in the league, but he pretty much is what he is at this point.
That might be worth the risk of a potential one-year Bradley rental as the Pistons try to get back on track to the postseason, but at the cost of Morris’ bargain deal and retaining the younger Caldwell-Pope, what would’ve been an A grade gets docked a bit.
Grade: C+