Getty The Warriors released Avery Bradley (center).
The Golden State Warriors announced they have waived former Los Angeles Lakers guard Avery Bradley in a bit of a surprising move just days before the regular season tips off. The Warriors have depth at guard and Bradley became the odd man out.
“Avery Bradley had a rotation spot early in the preseason, but minutes waned. Warriors opting against carrying the veteran guard,” The Athletic’s Anthony Slater tweeted on October 16.
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Bradley Believed He Had a ‘Real Chance’ to Make the Warriors Roster
The move comes just weeks after Bradley signed a non-guaranteed deal with the Warriors. Slater previously reported that Bradley believed he had a “real chance to make the roster.” Bradley carved out a role in the NBA as a top defender but has bounced around since his 2019-20 stint with the Lakers.
“It’s why Payton and Bradley enter camp as the two favorites to ultimately claim the last roster spot,” Slater detailed on September 24. “Kelly Oubre Jr. and Kent Bazemore are gone. There’s a need for another perimeter pest who can pick up full court and take a shift on elite scorers.
“Bradley is coming off a couple of down seasons but was one of the league’s stingiest individual defenders earlier in his career, and he’s only 30. He’s been given the impression, per a source, that he will have a real chance to make the roster and, with Thompson out early in the season, there’s a clear path to playing time if he rediscovers his old form, which would catapult him back onto the market next summer.”
A Lakers Reunion Is Unlikely for Bradley
Bradley started 44 games for the Lakers during their 2020 NBA title run before opting out of the Disney bubble when the season resumed after the season paused. The veteran guard averaged 8.6 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists during his short stint with the Lakers. Bradley played for the Heat and Rockets last season and is now looking for a new home.
Could the Lakers be open to a reunion with Bradley? This seems unlikely given Bradley is not eligible for a two-way contract with Los Angeles as Lakers Nation’s Trevor Lane detailed.
“There have been, and are going to be, a number of players getting waived soon,” Lane noted on Twitter on October 16. “The Lakers can be patient with their open two-way spot and see who hits the market, then go from there… Avery Bradley is not eligible for a two-way contract, btw.”
Bradley on Returning to the Lakers: ‘I Thought I Was Going Back’
During a January interview on the Posted Up podcast with Chris Haynes, Bradley noted he wanted to return to the Lakers admitting he felt that he missed out on the championship run in Orlando.
“Of course, you want to run it back,” Bradley noted. “After them winning a championship and me not being there to experience it with them, I want that feeling with the guys and the organization that I was able to build that bond with and that special run with. Even though I knew we could potentially lose someone, I still wanted to feel that with that core group of guys that I was battling with all year. It was hard. I thought I was going back.”