Avery Bradley not expected back with Rockets

According to several reports, the Houston Rockets are expected to decline the option of guard Avery Bradley, who came over to the team this past season along with Kelly Olynyk in the Victor Oladipo deal.

Bradley would be due $5.9 million should the team decided to exercise the team option year of his contract, and that’s simply way too much money for a rebuilding team to pay a soon-to-be 31-year-old guard.

This was initially reported by ESPN’s Tim MacMahon and then picked up by several outlets, including Yahoo Sports and USA Today.

Bradley averaged 5.2 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 1.9 assists for Houston on 31.4 percent from the field and 27 percent from deep in 17 games with 5 starts. He also missed time with a calf injury, so this is hardly the stuff worth almost $6 million per year. In addition, the Rockets have a group of young guys they’ll be looking to give playing time to before handing the reigns to an aging veteran on the downside of his career, so I’m all for this move.

Take the cap space, use it in the free agent market, and let Bradley go somewhere where he’ll be paid more in line with his production and maybe even get a chance for more playing time. Good move for all parties.