Report: Celtics Turned Down Offers For Avery Bradley At Trade Deadline

http://nesn.com/2015/03/report-celtics-turned-down-multiple-offers-for-avery-bradley-at-deadline/



Report: Celtics Turned Down Offers For Avery Bradley At Trade Deadline
by Zack Cox on Tue, Mar 31, 2015 at 10:07AM



The Boston Celtics were busy at last month’s NBA trade deadline, but there was one deal they were not willing to make.

Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge “flatly refused” multiple offers for guard Avery Bradley, several league sources told Grantland’s Zach Lowe. Those offers reportedly involved expiring contracts and low first-round draft picks.

It’s not surprising the Celtics were unwilling to cut ties with Bradley. The 24-year-old just signed a four-year, $32 million contract with the team last summer, and he’s been one of Boston’s most consistent scorers this season, most recently dropping 30 points Monday night in a 116-104 win over the Charlotte Hornets.

Lowe’s Tuesday column — a lengthy piece examining the current state of the Celtics’ rebuild — also included the tidbit that Boston would have preferred to wait until after the season before acquiring Isaiah Thomas, but Ainge was afraid the point guard either would be off the market by then or only available for too high a price.

“Ideally, he might have been someone you pick up in the summer,” Ainge told Grantland. “But someone else might trade for him. You might be in a bidding war. You have to move while the iron is hot.”

Thomas missed eight games with a lower back injury but otherwise has excelled for the Celtics, averaging 18.9 points over his 14 games in Boston since the trade.




bob
MY NOTE: I'm glad Danny was able to push himself away from the draft pick buffet table. We have plenty and Bradley has upped his game impressively.


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iMAGINR dANNY TURNING DOWN MORE dRAFT PICKS. He certainly is not thinking of tanking if he held onto Avery.

I'm still not convinced that Avery can be a SG on a contending team.  It almost seems unfair that so many people could criticize Jeff Green for his inconsistency without Avery's coming in for some of the same criticism.  But perhaps one man's concept of inconsistency is another man's is another man's concept of a different guy stepping up every night.  And Avery certainly is one of those guys.  Whatever this group I'm enjoying so much really is, Avery's certainly a charter member.

Sam