Unlike some of the other new faces that were added to the roster, Avery Bradley finds himself in familiar territory after signing with the Los Angeles Lakers in free agency.
Bradley spent the better part of the last two seasons struggling to find his footing with the Los Angeles Clippers following his arrival in the Blake Griffin trade. After failing to make an impact in Los Angeles, he was traded to the Memphis Grizzlies to end the 2018-19 NBA season.
The 28-year-old now has a chance at a potential resurgence across town with the Lakers moving forward. It seems that he is already looking forward to getting some revenge on his former team.
“One hundred percent. That will be a game that’s circled on the calendar for myself,” Bradley said during his conference call.
“I’m a competitor. That’s a team I played for, and it’s just going to be like every other team I played for, although it’s business and it didn’t work out, those are teams I’m not on anymore. I’m an ultimate competitor. I’m pretty sure I can speak for every guy that’s in our locker room, whatever team they played for before, they want to go out there and prove a point. Let that be a game they go out there and play as hard as they can. Clippers is going to be one of those games for me.”
Bradley certainly has good reason to be disgruntled with some of the opportunities granted to him by his former teams. Although Bradley spent the first seven seasons of his career developing into a key player for the Boston Celtics, he has now become a bit of a journeyman after joining his fourth team in three seasons.
Fortunately, it is safe to say that this has only served to provide further motivation for the veteran to prove he is still at the top of his game. The former two-time All-Defensive Team member will have a chance to provide the Lakers with some much-needed depth in the backcourt with his skill set on both ends of the floor.
There will be a number of games circled on the calendar for Bradley given all the teams he has parted ways with as of late. Regardless, his desire to perform against the Clippers is understandable given the recency of the trade and all the hype that has been generated by the influx of star power this offseason for the newfound rivalry in Los Angeles.
