Did Avery Bradley miss his chance to get paid?


From Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald:

In most years, unrestricted free agents are a good bet to return to the team that holds their matching rights. But when Bradley and his camp broke off extension talks with the Celtics over the winter despite the fact that the sides weren’t far apart, the guard may also have lost out on his best-case money scenario for next season.

Bradley’s ongoing brittleness considered, the C’s are unlikely to return to the four-year, $24 million extension that was previously offered. The injury issue may also limit what he finds on the market this summer.

I hope Murphy is right.  Another year gone by with Bradley not fully healthy (he played in 60 games this season) will definitely have an effect on his free-agent value.  I'm not sure it changes the likelihood of him returning to Boston though.  Won't other teams be just as weary of his injury history?  The Celtics keeping him for even less than they offered last fall seems like the best case scenario, and it appears to now be a legitimate possibility.



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