When it comes to his feelings about his former employer, Avery Bradley is a little more Jae Crowder than Isaiah Thomas.
Bradley was one of many casualties of the Celtics’ offseason, as Boston traded him to the Detroit Pistons in a deal involving Marcus Morris. Many fans were sad to see Bradley go — the shooting guard was one of the team’s most dependable and well-liked players who had spent his entire career with the C’s.
When asked about the surprising trade in a recent interview with TNT’s David Aldridge, Bradley admitted he’s still trying to process the move.
“Yeah, part of me still is,” Bradley told Aldridge, via NBA.com. “But I’m just taking it day by day, game by game. I’m just going out there trying to compete, playing the way that I know how to play, and not thinking about it.
“At the end of the day, this is a business. I understand that. The Celtics made some decisions that they needed to make to better their organization, so I respect that.”
But does Bradley, like his former teammate Thomas, question why Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge blew up a team that reached the Eastern Conference Finals last season?
“There’s a lot of what-ifs,” Bradley admitted. “But like I said, it’s a business, and that’s not our decisions to make — it’s Danny and the guys up there in the front office. All you can do is respect that and move on.
“One thing I understand about this league is you have to do what’s best for you, as players and as organizations. So, I respect every decision they made.”
That Bradley took the high road and echoed Crowder’s recent comments isn’t surprising: He never was one to stir up controversy in Boston. The 26-year-old still keeps in touch with his ex-teammates, too, also revealing he and Thomas chatted shortly after Gordon Hayward’s brutal injury last Tuesday.
“I texted him actually just after the Gordon (Hayward) incident,” Bradley said. “I was just like, man. That’s unfortunate.”
Bradley is off to a solid start in Detroit, averaging 13.3 points per game through four contests. He’ll get to visit his former club on Nov. 27 when the Pistons play in Boston, and it sounds like there won’t be any animosity on either side.
Thumbnail photo via Rick Osentoski/USA TODAY Sports Images
