ESPN is kicking off the season talking about potential 1-and-done college players (guys who leave after their freshman year). As part of that, they reached out to all of those guys who came into the league after 2006. Avery Bradley, of course, is one of those guys.
"As a one-and-done guy, people know that you're not experienced. Right when you get to the NBA, people just assume that you don't know as much about the game as other players, which you don't. But if you're a college guy that's done three or four years, you're gonna know a lot about the game. A lot of the Texas fans were excited. But as my rookie season went on and I wasn't playing, they started saying that I should've stayed in school. My whole life I've always been the underdog, so I take that as motivation."
Avery had the typical rookie season under Doc Rivers in the Big 3 era: he barely played. He signed a deal to play in Israel, which produced this highlight, but not much else. He only played two games for Hapoel Jerusalem, averaging 14 points. But he decided to leave last week rather than extend his stay.
So now Avery is back in the US, I would assume because of the grumblings of a possible deal. Though we'll have to wait and see if anything comes of that. In the mean time, Avery's going to have to work really hard to stick around. He'll be with the team this year, in all likelihood, because of the roster numbers. But he'll be pushed by E'Twaun Moore. Nothing is guaranteed. He's going to have to grow up fast and prove he belongs here or he'll end another late first-round pick that hasn't panned out.
I think Bradley's got the skills. He just needs the confidence to go out there an execute.
Hat tip: Jeff Garcia
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