The Detroit Pistons have made their recently acquired shooting guard Avery Bradley available in trade talks prior to the Feb. 8 deadline, according to a report by ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
The three-and-D asset was acquired from the Boston Celtics in a trade for Marcus Morris over the summer in the wake of a stalemate with former starter Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who wanted a max contract for his services.
Bradley has been struggling as of late, recently recording three straight single-digit scoring games and logging a scratch with a groin injury during Sunday's game against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The 27-year-old guard has been bothered by this injury this season, causing him to miss seven straight games earlier in this campaign.
The Pistons have lost eight straight games and 12 of their last 15 since point guard Reggie Jackson was sidelined with an ankle injury. Detroit has been juggling Ish Smith and Dwight Buycks as options at the position.
Bradley was confident Detroit would be willing to re-sign him to a long-term deal — that being the one thing the Celtics couldn't offer him after the acquisition of Gordon Hayward.
While he could command a near $20 million annual figure for his services, he's been scuffing as of late, averaging 8.5 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game through his last five games — with his usual stellar defense a sight yet to be seen in the latest games.
Yet Bradley is averaging 15.0 points per game this season, though shooting a mere 40.9 percent from the floor, a dip from the 16.3 points and 46.3 percent a year ago as a member of the Celtics. Bradley is still considered one of the best three-and-D assets due to his improved perimeter shooting and lockdown one-on-one defense.
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