Detroit Pistons welcome Avery Bradley

As announced Friday the Detroit Pistons traded forward Marcus Morris to the Boston Celtics for Avery Bradley and a 2019 second round pick.

When the Detroit Pistons traded for Avery Bradley, it ignited a sign for most Pistons fans that Kentavious Caldwell-Pope would likely become an unrestricted free agent instead of the Pistons signing him to a max. Don’t get me wrong I love KCP, but he wasn’t worth the max.

The Pistons essentially low-balled KCP after they signed free agent Langston Galloway using more than $5.2 million of the mid-level exception which in turn put them in a hard cap situation. If KCP had accepted the Pistons’ offer, they would have had to trade a player to shed salary.

Now that the KCP era is done let’s see what Avery Bradley brings to the table. Bradley who is still young at 26 is most known for is perimeter defense. He might be even considered the best perimeter defender in the NBA as of now. Many NBA players were furious that Bradley left off the All-Defensive team.

Bradley like KCP has improved every single season he has played in the NBA. You could just call him an upgrade of KCP. What Bradley has that KCP doesn’t have is leadership. Many Boston Celtics players and fans have noted him as being a humble and hard-working guy. He may give it all he has every night but according to Bradley last season is the first time he was a vocal leader and Celtics forward Al Horford helped.

He may give it his all every night but according to Bradley, last season is the first time he was a vocal leader and Celtics forward Al Horford helped. Leadership is definitely something that the Pistons need and after losing Marcus Morris someone needs to step up to the plate.

"“It’s weird, but players like Al (Horford) definitely helped me get out of my shell and pushed me this year to be more of a vocal leader.”"

This past season was Bradley’s best season yet. He averaged 16.3 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 1.2 steals per game. I find it interesting that the Celtics biggest problem last season was rebounding yet Bradley who by the way is only 6’2″ averaged six a game.

Bradley also shot very well accross the board. He shot 39 percent from beyond the arc and had an overall field goal percentage of 46.3 percent

Overall the trade was a win for both teams. The Celtics made room for Gordon Hayward and acquired forward Marcus Morris for cheap.  On the other side, the Detroit Pistons saved a lot of money by not giving KCP the max and replaced KCP with Avery Bradley who is an upgraded KCP. And on top of all that got a 2019 second-round pick in the deal.

Next: Pistons trade Marcus Morris for Avery Bradley

The only issue the Detroit Pistons have in front of them is that Bradley may only be with the Pistons for one year. Also a good point to note is that Bradley wont extend because the money was too low and can’t go above 20 million in an extension. Next off-season they have Bird rights and they can offer him max if they’re willing to do so.