The Celtics Are Shipping Avery Bradley To Detroit To Make Room For Gordon Hayward

Gordon Hayward joining the Boston Celtics meant someone on the team had to go. On Friday, the Celtics finally made the move that allows Hayward to sign with the team.

Boston traded Avery Bradley to Detroit in a move first reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

The return isn’t all that exciting, but the larger implications for the Celtics still are.

There’s probably more to this deal than it appears right now, as the general consensus is that something else must be coming for the Celtics. But the plain facts are that Boston is making room for Hayward here, and any team they’re dealing with in a potential move knows exactly what’s at stake. That means Danny Ainge can’t expect friendly trade partners, and so a very serviceable Bradley goes to the Pistons in exchange for very little.

Morris carries a cap hit of $5 million, while the final year of Bradley’s contract is worth $8.8 million and change against the cap. That’s small savings on the whole, but it gets Boston closer to the numbers they need. Meanwhile, the Pistons also get a second round pick out of the deal.

https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/883328121394667520

One interesting aspect of the deal is that the Clippers were “involved” until the very end.

No word on what players LA was looking to move or why that didn’t happen, but it seems there was certainly a market for Bradley.