Subscribe
Follow Us
The Detroit Pistons last week made the surprising decision to acquire veteran guard Avery Bradley from the Boston Celtics.
In his introductory press conference with the Pistons on Thursday afternoon, Bradley made it clear that his long-term plans would be to remain with the organization, according to Rod Beard of the Detroit News.
#Pistons Bradley on long-term deal: "I want to reach my full potential as a basketball player and I'm hoping that can be here."
— Rod Beard (@detnewsRodBeard) July 13, 2017
#Pistons Bradley on long-term contract: "We'll talk about that when the time comes."
— Rod Beard (@detnewsRodBeard) July 13, 2017
Bradley is set to enter the final year of his four-year, $32 million deal that will pay him $8.8 million for the 2017-18 campaign.
Through his first seven years in the league, Bradley has developed into a top-five two-way player behind the likes of Klay Thompson and Kawhi Loanrd. He is widely regarded as one of the top defenders at his position backed by a pair of All-Defensive team selections in his career.
Bradley has also developed into a capable scorer coming off his best individual campaign where he averaged a career-high 16.3 points on 46.3 percent shooting from the field and 39 percent from beyond the arc. His addition to the Pistons does crowd their backcourt, but it may also create a much stronger internal push to move on from Reggie Jackson at some point this offseason.
There has been consistent chatter over the last couple of weeks that Detroit is looking to move Jackson with the latest discussions surrounding him possibly going to the New Orleans Pelicans. Even if Detroit is unable to move on from Jackson, Bradley will likely play a significant part of the team's plans next season and well beyond it.
