Trading Avery Bradley Was the Right Move

So, the Celtics recently traded Avery Bradley and a 2019 second round pick to the Pistons for Marcus Morris. As a Celtics fan, I was shocked we let Avery Bradley go for such little return. In hindsight, however, it makes sense that Danny Ainge pulled the trigger on this one.

ESPN had been reporting days leading up to the trade that Ainge was shopping Smart, Bradley, and Crowder around the league to clear up cap space to sign Hayward to a 4-year, $128M max contract. Many people assumed Crowder would be the odd man out, but when news broke that it was Avery Bradley, Celtics nation was very upset.

Although many fans are still upset, understand this. Avery Bradley only has one year left on his contract ($8.8M in 2017-18 season) and he is likely worth over $20M per year with the modern NBA salary at about $100M. The Celtics would have to decide who to pay next offseason and it is clear that the money will likely be given to Isaiah Thomas, leaving little money (likely not enough) to pay AB. So the Celtics would only have had Bradley on the roster for one more season anyways.

In addition, Jae Crowder has a very team friendly contract. Ainge even said in an interview two days ago, “Jae is a big part of what we’re doing…I mean, he was our best 3-point shooter last year, and he defends some of the top players in the league. Jae’s a very important player for us going forward.” In addition to Crowder, Marcus Smart is only 23 years old and has a bright future. Ainge seems more interested in keeping him long-term than he does with Avery Bradley.

Now, instead of having Bradley for one year on an $8.8M contract, we are going to have power forward Marcus Morris for $5M and $5.4M the next two seasons. This sheds over $3.8M to bring in Gordon Hayward.

The acquisition of Marcus Morris, in my opinion, is better than most people think. Trading Avery Bradley gets Ainge the most bang for his buck. Crowder would not have given him much and I do not think he is very interested in moving Marcus Smart.

Adding Marcus Morris brings in a versatile big who averaged 14 PPG over the last two seasons. Morris also shoots the three ball at a 36% clip, which is not too shabby for a big man.

In addition to scoring, Marcus Morris has proven his ability to defend LeBron James. Whenever the Pistons play the Cavaliers, Marcus Morris seems to clamp Bron Bron. During the 2015-16 season, LeBron James averaged a mere 20.5 points per 100 possessions while being guarded by Marcus Morris (that was LeBron’s lowest average against any defender during that season). His average points per 100 possessions was 36.5 that season. Additionally, in the three games that LeBron played the Pistons, he averaged 20.7 points and shot just 30.8% from three-point range, while mostly being guarded by Morris. In the 2015-2016 playoffs, LeBron averaged 22 points against the Pistons in the first round, shooting 49% overall and 21% from three. In this most recent season, LeBron averaged 22 points while shooting 56% overall and 9% from three in three games against the Pistons. The way Morris plays defensively on LeBron is a huge plus, especially since the Celtics are usually prone to LeBron domination.

Ultimately, keeping AB for one more year when we know we aren’t winning the championship is pointless when we can have Marcus Morris for two years on a cheaper deal. Morris gives us a chance to body and defeat the Cavs, even though I think that is still a bit of a pipe dream. As a realist Celtics fan, I have my hopes on Danny Ainge swinging a deal for Anthony Davis in 2020 when AD realizes the Pelicans aren’t going anywhere and the Celtics are only a unibrow away from winning it all. Go Celtics!

#UnibrowToBoston

Written by Nick Mattioli