Forget Avery Bradley, the Suns should acquire Tyreke Evans

Why Avery Bradley doesn’t work

DETROIT, MI – NOVEMBER 29: Devin Booker #1 of the Phoenix Suns drives the ball to the basket as Avery Bradley #22 of the Detroit Pistons defends during the third quarter of the game at Little Caesars Arena on November 29, 2017 in Detroit, Michigan. Detroit defeated Phoenix 131-107. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement (Photo by Leon Halip/Getty Images)

There are many reasons why I believe that Avery Bradley doesn’t work for the Phoenix Suns, but I’ll stick to the top 3:

The Money – It has been speculated that Avery Bradley might demand from about $20M a year to a max contract, a ludicrous amount of money for a non-star player. Even in this era of inflated contracts, to offer that much money to a player who doesn’t average anywhere near 20pts, or 5 rebounds, or 5 assists per game (he is currently averaging 15.0/2.4/2.1), I don’t care if he is a good defensive player, he needs to offer more to the team on the offensive end to make paying him such a sum financially worth it.
His size – If you have watched Valley of the Suns Live! or read any of my work about point guards, you’ll know that I am a huge proponent of finding guards with height and size whenever possible. Bradley is listed at 6’2″ and 180 pounds – not always the smallest player on the court, but also nowhere near the biggest. Sure, he can be a lock down defender, but is he able to lock down players bigger than 6’5″? What about guards that are 6’7″ (like Devin Booker, Ben Simmons, or in the future, potentially Luka Doncic)? In a league that values size and the ability to stretch the court more and more, a 6’2″ stopper just doesn’t mean a whole lot.
How does he help Devin Booker? – Devin Booker’s biggest need is having more shooters around him to help take the offensive load off. Sure, he might thrive not having to be the starting point guard on the team, but being able to face more single coverage because the other players around are serious scoring threats themselves would be a huge advantage to his game. Avery Bradley is not the player to do that. Although he did peak at 16.3ppg last season, he is barely averaging 15ppg so far this year, and has a career average of about 12.0. Furthermore, as a “PG/SG” he has never averaged more than 2.2 assists per game in his career, so adding Bradley would guarantee that Booker will remain the starting point guard. Sure, a lot defensive pressure would be taken off of Book, but even that is negligible since Josh Jackson is expected to develop into a premier defender anyway. What Booker needs is offensive help, and Avery Bradley just does not provide enough.

For my money, it just doesn’t make sense to add Avery Bradley to the Suns this offseason. Comparing only by type of player, I would liken him to Raja Bell. A defensive stalwart who could lock down the opponent’s best player, Bell averaged around 14 points per game on a series of Suns teams that had three superior scorers in Steve Nash, Shawn Marion, and Amar’e Stoudemire.

To make Bradley worth while, he would need to be the fourth best scorer minimum on a team with several above average scorers around him, and the current Suns team only has two.

Oh, and in the conversation about size? Raja Bell was 6’5″.