A few weeks into NBA free agency, most free agents have been signed by one team or another, but there are still a few viable ones who are left standing in the unemployment line as of now.
One of them is Avery Bradley, a veteran guard who last played for the Los Angeles Lakers this past season.
While his defense, which was once lauded as well above-average, may not be what it once was, he still contributed to the scant success L.A. had by averaging 6.4 points and 0.9 steals in 22.7 minutes per game while shooting 39.0 percent from the field.
At age 31, he seems to have a few good years of basketball left in his body, and there may be a few teams that could use his services this coming season.
Here are two teams that should take a flyer on Bradley by the end of the summer.
2. Golden State Warriors
The Warriors actually signed Bradley late last summer, only to waive him during the exhibition season.
When the team let him go, Stephen Curry and Draymond Green were reportedly not happy about the decision.
Avery Bradley getting waived must have come as a shock to Stephen Curry and Draymond Green 👀 pic.twitter.com/g1LaVZoLKQ
— Warriors Nation (@WarriorNationCP) October 18, 2021
The world champs have lost some important depth this offseason, with Damion Lee and Gary Payton II leaving in free agency, and Bradley could help fill the void.
Both Lee and Payton were mediocre-to-average 3-point shooters, so Bradley would actually be an upgrade in that department.
Golden State currently doesn’t have any small guards on its bench, and Bradley could fit the bill as a point-of-attack defender.
He also has plenty of experience, which is something that wouldn’t hurt on a team that is fairly young outside of Curry, Green and Klay Thompson.
Although Bradley decided not to report to the Walt Disney World Resort bubble, he was a key role player for the Lakers when they won the 2020 NBA championship, and that experience could make him a nice fit on Steve Kerr‘s squad.
Shoutout to Avery Bradley on a great season. pic.twitter.com/lH3q94Qp9C
— pickuphoop (@pickuphoop) June 24, 2020
1. Boston Celtics
How about a homecoming where Bradley returns to the team he played for during his first seven seasons in the league?
He broke into the NBA as a first-round draft pick during the 2010-11 season, back when Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo still ran the show in Beantown.
The following season, Bradley started earning significant playing time and even started 28 regular season games and 10 playoff games as the Celtics made one last gasp by taking LeBron James‘ Miami Heat to the brink of Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
The current edition of the Celtics could still use some more depth, as they will have Derrick White and Payton Pritchard, both of whom are young, backing up Malcolm Brogdon and Marcus Smart.
They certainly could’ve used Bradley’s shooting in the NBA Finals, as White was their only bench rotation player who shot better than 30 percent from beyond the arc in the series versus the Warriors.
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