Being in the building for the Toronto Raptors vs. Memphis Grizzlies game Monday was a treat for two reasons. One, I got to watch Cameron Boozer in person. Two, anytime you watch basketball in person, things just stand out more. What really stood out to me watching the shorthanded Raptors play Memphis was how out of place Jaden Bradley looked in his nine minutes.
I loved Bradley when Toronto landed him at pick No. 50. He was a multi-year college guard with a mature body and a solid all-around game, entering a situation where he wouldn’t be asked to do much from day one and would, at best, serve as the third-string point guard. While Summer League was tough for Bradley, the preseason gave me hope he could easily slot into that third-string point guard role and give the Raptors a solid 10-ish minutes on nights they dealt with injuries. But I was wrong.
Across his 17 minutes over the last two games, he has looked super out of place, very unsure of himself, and like someone who could really benefit from some reps in the G League.
Jaden Bradley needs time with Raptors 905 to figure things out
Obviously, 10 games into the season, I don’t think anyone expected Jaden Bradley to be getting minutes for the Toronto Raptors. Even I didn’t expect to be writing about a Bradley-focused angle this early on. So that can definitely be part of the issue, as Darko Rajakovic likely would’ve rather eased him into things and given him reps with the 905 before asking him to play spot minutes in a regular-season game.
But seeing an experienced player with his collegiate resume lose control of the ball or throw bad passes in the pick-and-roll is hard to explain. I never feared for Arizona when Bradley had the ball last season and was making decisions for their offense, but every time he touched the ball in the last two games, I fought the urge to cringe.
One play in particular against Milwaukee stood out: Jakob Poeltl and Bradley were running a pick-and-roll, and on the roll, Bradley threw the ball at Jak’s feet. It’s not just the inaccuracy of the pass or that he threw it low. It’s about knowing the personnel. Jak has never bent that low in his career, so to throw a pass at his ankles is just brutal, brutal stuff.
Obviously, a few bad passes from a rookie guard drafted in the second round isn’t enough of a reason to just flat-out send a player down to the G League. But his general comfort level on the court hasn’t looked good, and he is rushing a lot, which isn’t what fans of his college game are used to seeing.
With Bradley, I’d assume this tough two-game sample is more about nerves than him not being an NBA-caliber player. However, he clearly needs to ease into things and get more reps, and the best way to do that is through the G League. So don’t be shocked if he is down with the 905 when this group is back at full strength.
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