Avery Bradley?

[IrishLuck31]

Saw two different rumors that if draft happened today, Pacers would strongly consider rolling the dice with Bradley at 10. the kid can play, but he had attitude problems at Texas and is not a true PG. scoring ability + defense is nice, but I do not want this, and really doubt the team would take a risk on him given our current drafting strategy. what do you guys think?

[PacerGuy]

Saw two different rumors that if draft happened today, Pacers would strongly consider rolling the dice with Bradley at 10.

Links?

[IrishLuck31]

http://www.nba.com/pacers/news/mock_dra ... _2010.html

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/3972 ... j-ford-too


-so obviously neither have really insider information or anything, i just first saw it through ESPN insider and wondered how legit it was.

[Starkiller]

Bledsoe > Bradley

[Crossova21]

I wouldn't mind taking him with the 10th cuz we need someone who can help Granger. I don't know about everyone else but the biggest problem I see with the team we have is everyone is timid. Outside of Dahntay and maybe Roy and Danny no one plays with intensity. I haven't really watch Bradley that much but he seems to have that killer-instinct we're lacking.

I also like Udoh and Henry too but they dont seem to have that mentality.

[MUpacersSIC]

I brought this up in the draft thread, but is anyone else interested in Paul George. To me he seems like he's going to be a stud. In my opinion when it's all said and done I think he'll be a top 5 player from this draft.

[mizzoupacers]

I think Bradley would be a really bad choice at #10. He's not a point guard, he's an undersized two guard. And he's not an exceptional scorer or playmaker and doesn't figure to become one. Can't see why the Pacers would be very interested.

[ardthomp]

I brought this up in the draft thread, but is anyone else interested in Paul George. To me he seems like he's going to be a stud. In my opinion when it's all said and done I think he'll be a top 5 player from this draft.

At 6'9, 185, he could be a matchup problem for some SGs, but seems too frail for any physical play.

[IrishLuck31]

I know this goes against the Best Player Available Strategy, but I would much prefer taking a comparable point guard/big men instead of wings. Wings are the easiest players to get at a decent level in the NBA and we already have Granger and there is no reason not to give Rush at least one more year to improve. would it be nice to have a Xavier Henry, paul george, or bradley to be able play on the wings with Rush and Granger? yes definitely. but much more essential to draft a PF (Udoh will be a serviceable big for most of his career i feel) or do what I want and trade down or up to go after a pg or big guy.

Unless our scouts are in love with henry or bradley, id prefer to trade the pick or draft a big guy. after this season we have granger, rush, djones, hibbert and maybe hansbrough under contract? oh, aj price i guess too. but if we draft a wing player then that would mean 4 wings, 2 bigs (1 of which has not come close to proving himself yet), and 1 very mediocre PG heading into the offseason. again, as long as we dont think a wing is just way ahead of anyone else, I say draft a big or trade the pick.

[8305]

It sounds like he's a 2 and I'd guess the likelihood of him developing pg skills once in the NBA is remote. I'm still intrigued. The league is loaded with shooting guards in pg bodies who can shoot the lights out. On a good teams they come off the bench because of the defensive problems a small backcourt typically has. Bradley is unique because it sounds like he can shoot and defend.

I'm guessing the Pacers see his potential as a lock down defender of pg's and a second scoring option. If you don't have a super fast scoring pg (seems to be in vogue right now) then at least be able to defend them and put pressure on them as defenders. Its kind of an interesting concept. For this approach to be successful you need a big guy who can play the point. Hinrich/Gordon, Billips/Hamilton are a couple of guard combinations who often switched off from traditional defensive assignments. Maybe we can trade down and with a couple later 1st round picks you could nap Mikial Torrence with the other pick?

[IrishLuck31]

I started off the day with a pretty negative view of Bradley at 10, but the more I read, the more I become intrigued with him. I originally didnt like him b/c he is not true PG/small for a 2 and had tunnel vision/inconsistently at Texas. this is what draftexpress said though:

"Quite possibly the most impressive player in attendance here, Avery Bradley put on an outstanding shooting display in both drills and scrimmages, showing off his picture perfect form while many times making those in attendance wonder if he can miss a shot. In drills, Bradley looked very smooth pulling up off a confident dribble, knocking down a variety of shots, while also showing off his excellent athleticism in transition, putting his 37.5 inch vertical leap to good use.

Where Bradley really impressed though was the scrimmages, where his team rarely lost and he made great use of the floor’s spacing, getting to open spots of the floor with ease, showing no troubles getting separation from his man. With his excellent body control, balance, and elevation, Bradley just needs a glimmer of space to get his shot off, and he showed that especially playing the pick-and-roll game. Bradley hit a variety of pull-up jumpers from the mid-range and from behind the arc, many with a hand in his face, which didn’t seem to do much. He incorporated in some hesitation dribbles and fakes to get separation when his first move didn’t work, but mostly didn’t need it, just being so proficient out of simple pick-and-rolls.

Bradley was able to dominate constantly looking for his shot out of pick-and-rolls, but he didn’t really excel finding his teammates, something that wasn’t problematic here but did lead to some troubles at Texas this past season, as he’s prone to showing tunnel vision looking for his own shot. While it’s tough to take much concrete from these scrimmages, nothing we saw here suggested Bradley is yet ready to be a full-time point guard in the NBA, in line with what we saw from him all season.

Bradley also didn’t show much in terms of finishing at the rim, though to be fair the way he was playing, he didn’t need to try. He is a bouncy athlete in space for sure, but he did have some troubles finishing at the rim in college this season, and it’d be nice to see him continue to work on his floater.

Defensively, Bradley likewise shined, using his full 6’7 wingspan to great use, never giving up on a play, and constantly trying to affect plays from behind when beat. He did a good job battling through pick-and-rolls and played physical, intense defense pretty much every possession, having some great battles with the other small guards here. Bradley also appeared to be a very good teammate, encouraging others and being pretty vocal in general.

Seeing Bradley run so many pick-and-rolls and play in an environment with much more spacing than he saw at Texas, it’s not hard to see many reasons why he has the potential to be a better NBA player than he was in college, especially if he can go to a system that emphasizes those two concepts. Bradley’s 6’7 wingspan also bodes well for his chances of defending shooting guards at the next level, at least reserves, many of which are 6’5 and under. While there are questions about his position, Bradley certainly brings quite a few NBA skills to the table, and could be capable of contributing immediately in the right situation, though situation should be critical to his early chances at success. "

[laydo]

Bledsoe > Bradley

Bradley or Bledsoe? I'd go with Bradley.

After all, prepare for the worst, Bradley still can be a decent solid defensive player like Derek Fisher. He may not be a true point guard but can help the Pacers guard Rose, Wall, Rondo these guys.

As for Bledsoe, if he cannot turn into a well playmaker, I don't think he's able to guard any one above due to his sized.

[Gremz]

I like the risk mentality.

[Miller4ever]

Bledsoe is the kind of draft pick we need. It's a tough call right now. I'm confident we'll get a better idea as the draft nears.

[fienX420]

Bradley could be a decent PG prospect. It's hard to tell. But I like that he should be a good defender. At this point I'm all for drafting only PG prospects until we can find someone good. Really like Vasquez and Lin in the second round.

[Wizop]

I like coach, but he's a stubborn guy who runs his system period. TJ Ford is a classic, speedy, drive and dish point guard but O'B wants the point to bring the ball up including against pressure and then give up the ball to start the motion offense. if Rush had the ball skills to bring the ball up court against pressure, he could play the point in O'B's system. basically I think we're looking for someone with good ball skills, a three point shot, and the ability to defend point guards. if Bledsoe or Bradley can do that, my only hesitancy would be based upon value. I'd think you could slide and still get one or the other ... and I agree that Vasquez in the second makes sense although I like Varnado there too.

Bradley's wingspan could be a key factor as it is an indicator that he'll be able to defend taller players. I'd put a very high priority on defense in picking a point guard prospect. I'm much more concerned about that than the ability to drive the lane as I want to dump the ball into Hibbert and allow Roy to find the cutter.

I assume we'll use our second, second on a Euro who well be left there.

p.s. Bradley and Bledsoe sound a lot like the kid we traded to Portland on draft night two years ago with the only difference being their projected value. we're picking a few spots higher and that's part of why taking them in our current spot seems like a reach.,

[Moooose]

^ Agree. Vasquez at the 40th would be good. I have a feeling Varnado would be taken somewhere in the 30's either by OKC, Milwaukee or New York. He's got proven shotblocking skills and every team would love to have a guy like him as a back-up.

At 57th, yes i think a Euro prospect wouldn't hurt. I like Shved, he's tall and possesses good ball handling skills, another is Bjelica. We already have two bigs in Lorbek and Barac. I think Larry would go for a wing.

[Wizop]

Bradley has move up on DraftExpress. I'm starting to think we should just take him at 10 and not risk trading down. Call that the Dwight Freeney approach as 93 wasn't rated anywhere near where the Colts took him but Polian and Dungy decided he was their guy and there was no guarantee that we'd still be able to get him if we moved down.

[8305]

Bradley has move up on DraftExpress. I'm starting to think we should just take him at 10 and not risk trading down. Call that the Dwight Freeney approach as 93 wasn't rated anywhere near where the Colts took him but Polian and Dungy decided he was their guy and there was no guarantee that we'd still be able to get him if we moved down.

Do you take Bradley at 10 if you could get Lawson for pick 10 or, if you could trade pick 10 for Eric Maynor and pick 21?

Bradley's length and athleticism are interesting but I don't think he will ever be a point guard.