Report: Thunder interested in Clippers' Bradley to fill in for Roberson
Avery Bradley may want to keep his bags packed.
The Oklahoma City Thunder are interested in acquiring the Los Angeles Clippers shooting guard as a replacement for Andre Roberson, sources told The Washington Post's Tim Bontemps.
Bradley, 27, was dealt to the Clippers from the Detroit Pistons on Monday in the Blake Griffin blockbuster. Before he even arrived in L.A., there was speculation the Clippers could flip him elsewhere. The two-time All-Defensive Team member is on an expiring $8.8-million contract.
The talented two-way guard could be just what Oklahoma City needs to try to fill the void left by Roberson, who suffered a season-ending injury last week and underwent surgery to repair a ruptured left patellar tendon. The starting swingman ranked second in the league in Defensive Real Plus-Minus (4.17) and was key to the club's top-five defense.
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Though he lacks the size and strength of Roberson, the 6-foot-2 Bradley is one of the premier defenders at the guard positions and is much better offensively.
| G | PTS | REB | AST | FG% | 3P% | FT% | PER | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bradley | 40 | 15 | 2.4 | 2.1 | 40.9 | 38.1 | 76.3 | 9.9 |
| Roberson | 39 | 5 | 4.7 | 1.2 | 53.7 | 22.2 | 31.6 | 11.1 |
The Thunder's interest in Bradley reportedly goes way back, with The Norman Transcript's Fred Katz indicating OKC planned to draft the Washington native in 2010 before trading the No. 18 pick to the Clippers. The fifth-place club's supposed interest in him makes sense, but it may be hard-pressed to get him, as the Thunder don't have any first-round picks until 2022 and aren't willing to surrender rookie Terrance Ferguson, per Bontemps.