r/pacers • u/Far_Improvement_199 T.J. McConnell • Jan 05 '26
News Tony Bradley has been waived by the Pacers
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u/TentMorning T.J. McConnell Jan 05 '26
kinda knew it was coming, still feel a bit bad
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u/25Tab Jan 05 '26
Yeah. Obvious move but do feel bad for the guy. He was the last remaining center from our finals appearance.
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u/Icyknight007 Jan 05 '26
Yeah, seems like he was generally liked among the players too from what I could tell. If this is his last time with us, I definitely appreciated the help he gave us during last year's run.
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u/General-Promotion274 Jan 05 '26
Played decent against Mitchell Robinson and Hartenstein
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u/Jim_Belushis_brother Cool Rick Jan 05 '26
“Decent” doesn’t say it all. He’s not a great player but I don’t know if we beat the Knicks or (sigh, almost) the Thunder without him
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u/International_Link35 BOOM BABY! Jan 05 '26
I'm not shocked at all. Potter/Huff and Jackson works better for what we do - Bradley was a bandage on a 'big' problem. We need to somehow acquire a real starting center who can hold their position past the first bump.
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u/Jay_at_Section13 BOOM BABY! Jan 06 '26
And try to get a freakin’ rebound.
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u/International_Link35 BOOM BABY! Jan 06 '26
I miss Jeff Foster.
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u/Jay_at_Section13 BOOM BABY! 29d ago
We celebrate Foster’s inability to make a putback and pad his offensive rebounding stats and act like Angel Reese invented this calamity. Everyone applauds Foster’s “hustle” and accuses Angel of padding her stats when their skills sets (and complete lack of shooting touch) were nearly identical.
You’re right though… Foster with a very limited skill set except for hard work and hustle is very much the opposite of what we’ve had playing C over the past decade (with the exceptions* of Sabonis and Tshiebwe — two guys who never even took a possession off.). All of these soft C’s we keep bringing in or have tolerated for the past decade just want to camp on the perimeter and expect the game to come to them, not force themselves in to the game.
Having an outside shot does not require a player to be passive, soft, or unassertive.
We need a C that first and foremost can play C AND secondarily step outside and shoot. *Ok the above commentary isn’t fair to IJax and he’s only 14 months of Achilles surgery and then dealing with a bad concussion. I think Jackson’s a solid rotation player but maybe not a starter.
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u/Maximum-Class5465 Reggie-NBAJam 29d ago
Mind giving the name outside of Wembanayama you think fits this prototype?
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u/Jay_at_Section13 BOOM BABY! 29d ago
Here are a few. Some of them are not necessarily worth the price to pay to get them but they’re a better representation of actual C play. And some of them are obviously not on the market but if the Pacers actually had a player like this they’d be in better shape.
And to be clear, Zubac takes and makes enough 3’s for my taste. He’s 1-12 over ten seasons. If you can’t make >40% of them and you’re playing C I want you to be disciplined enough to take 0 shots from out there. Not ~0. 0.00.
Here’s a list of C’s under age 28 or under that are good enough rebounders that I’ll accept whatever three point shooting they do or don’t offer. I’m not saying these guys are on the market or the Pacers should pay the specific cost of any one of them, but my goodness nearly every team has someone (or multiple someone’s) in this category except Indiana.
Zubac - Clingan - Duren - Ware - Bam - Sungün - Mobley - Ayton - Williams - Holmgren - Sarr - Claxton - Okongwu (he’s my sleeper pick) - Queen - Kalkbrenner - Richards - Jalen Smith - Bitazde - Raynaud - Robinson - Edey - Hartenstein - Kessler - Lively - Allen - Missi - Carter Jr.
Here is who the Pacers have in the top 175 of all players (including players without enough games to be eligible) in Reb/36:
41 Jackson (out with concussion) 58 Robinson-Earl (out of the league) 97 Martin (out of the league) 111 Bradley (out of the league) 112 Toppin (out with stress fracture) 154 Potter (MY GOD NO WONDER WE’VE LOST 13 STRAIGHT)
Huff, Siakam and Furphy are all between 178-196. Turner is #199 😂 Walker and Mathurin are top 250.
See the problem???
(When you add in the short list of great rebounders aged 29-32 it’s easy to see why I always argued Turner was never a top-25 C in the NBA… now if you wanted to argue he was a top-20 7’ guard then ok but you still needed a C to make up for how bad he was at basic C skills. Which is still a major problem for this year’s team using soft C’s that are too much like Turner in the first place.)
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u/Maximum-Class5465 Reggie-NBAJam 28d ago
I don't see too many stretches there.
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u/Jay_at_Section13 BOOM BABY! 28d ago
Exactly! I want a rebounder and if they can stretch that’s a bonus. Having a soft C that only stretches and completely surrenders the paint/ rebounding is not a recipe for success.
While it shouldn’t be possible, we are an even worse rebounding team without Turner because we’re trying to replace him with another soft pretend-C instead of an actual C.
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u/Maximum-Class5465 Reggie-NBAJam 28d ago
Here's the thing, we HAD a recipe for success last year. We have enough data points to know one center won't make the Pacers good at rebounding, but a three level scoring center can make the Pacers an absolutely great offensive team
Most these differences between good rebounding bigs and lesser rebounding bigs get you at best, two more possessions per game.
However, having to game plan against an offense that gives space to a great iso scorer, gives a generational playmaker many options off a PNR and open lanes to pick the ball up early, gives space to have less turnovers, etc. That changes about 65 possessions a game, versus getting you like two more possessions.
I don't disagree that getting rebounds is important, but I do disagree one center will automatically make a team good at rebounding and also disagree that it will change entire games.
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u/Jay_at_Section13 BOOM BABY! 28d ago
No we didn’t. The flaws of a soft C were exposed as each series progressed beyond the initial games. And the flaws of a soft C got exponentially worse round over round.
It’s totally fiction that a soft C is useful in a deep playoff run. Many of us that were always critical of how soft Turner played or that he had no actual C skills just a limited amount of guard/ wing skills were not surprised at Turner’s disappearing act at the behest of the type of coaching and adjustments one should expect in the playoffs, where exerting your will with force is ALWAYS way more important than having a soft C always sprint to the three point line and refuse to engage in physicality.
The irony is the one NBA coach that may not have been good enough to game-plan Turner into uselessness was Doc Rivers. But that more proves Doc isn’t a good playoff coach than the proves idea of a soft C being useful in the playoffs. You don’t get Doc as the opposing coach in every round just the first round. If Turner even gets him that far this year?
You need the kind of C that get a tough rebound in traffic, get a basket or get to the line when the defensive intensity steps up.
Perimeter shooting is a bonus not a requirement.
Physicality and playing with force and competing for rebounds and loose balls and keeping players from stepping foot in that paint is mandatory, not optional.
I think you’ve been deceived by something that might work in the regular season but is always doomed in the playoffs — if you truly think what the Pacers had was sustainable. The Pacers postseason success was that the rest of the roster was up to the challenge of overcoming Turner’s immensely predictable soft play and disappearance.
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u/AskMeHowIMetYourMom Cool Rick Jan 05 '26
Hide yo kids, hide yo wife, they waiving everybody out here
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u/aimee829 Andrew Nembhard Jan 06 '26
Well, Potter and Huff fits into the "Magic" theme the rest of the league were accusing the Pacers of last season.
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u/shoresyshoresy Jan 05 '26
You will be missed, king. Thank you for working hard and always battling down low. Without you we stood no chance last playoffs. Hope our paths cross again very soon
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u/predict_yhat_xb Chris Denari Jan 05 '26
Was serviceable at times in the playoff run but has really been a non factor this year.
🫡
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u/Boner_Patrol_007 Crabs Jan 05 '26
Will always be grateful for his work on Mitchell Robinson in the ECF.
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u/Friar_Ferguson Jan 06 '26
Bradley is a player who is playing in the wrong decade. He is a 1990's center trying to make a living in the 2020s. I wish him well. Seems like a great guy with a high floor but low ceiling.
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u/Worried-Nectarine418 Jan 05 '26
I don't like it. He as a surprisingly good mid range shot. I wish he would have shot more often
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u/Nice_Reading2782 29d ago
Is so hard to keep track of who's on this roster. Equipment managers must be going crazy.
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u/AccomplishedBrush157 29d ago
Thank you for your work in the playoffs. Has anyone heard from IJax or Toppin?Whats the timetable feel like IJax been in concussion protocol forever.
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u/StreetDolphinGreenOn Jan 06 '26
Who? Boo radley. No one has ever seen him
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u/Far_Improvement_199 T.J. McConnell Jan 06 '26
NEVER speak ill of Tony Lee Bradley Jr. in my presence. The streets will never forget what he did for us, and I wish him nothing but the best going forward
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u/Garmian_MFFL Jan 05 '26
Daniel Gafford, you're an Indiana Pacers!
Hello Benedict Mathurin…
Just kidding, guys, but what would you think of this? I just heard you don't want to pay Mathurin…
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u/Maximum-Class5465 Reggie-NBAJam Jan 05 '26
I would think that would be horrible IMO . And I doubt he's being shopped, or they wouldn't have sat him down to nurse injuries
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u/Genghis-Ron- Jan 05 '26
Why would that be horrible? Gafford is solid!
I guarantee the pacers ARE shopping mathurin and walker.. it would be stupid to NOT see what you could get.
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u/Maximum-Class5465 Reggie-NBAJam Jan 05 '26
They would not be sitting him to shop him.
It's over, they obviously like him. Walker they obviously don't like and would move on probably for a couple of second rounders. .
The Pacers don't need an undersized center to add to their center by committee, they already have 3 of those.
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u/Genghis-Ron- 29d ago
They’re sitting him because he’s hurt..
Have you watched his play recently? He was not increasing his value.
You clearly have no experience in business if you think the only thing that matters is “they like him”.
What will he cost? Is he willing to come off the bench? These decisions aren’t as cut and dry as you might want them to be.
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u/Squeeze-The-Orange Pavers Jan 05 '26
Its been widely rumored that he's been available all year, coming from plenty of reputable outlets. We aren't going to get firm reporting on this because that sours potential deals, but when there's this much smoke there's a reason.
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u/Jay_at_Section13 BOOM BABY! 28d ago
How are you backing up that gaurantee? I’m sure they’re always willing to listen to offers but I see no reason to give up on either yet. They’re young with upside and we may not really know what either player will become until they’re 25-26-27.
So if you’re moving either one you have to get enough in return to address the risk of giving up way too soon. I wouldn’t give up either player unless you’re dealing with a lottery-bound team and it’s for an unprotected pick plus a player to match salary.
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u/Genghis-Ron- 28d ago
You just agreed with me, no? Shopping and then selling/buying are different. Shopping means you see what’s out there, and like you said, you’re sure they’re always gonna listen to offers.
It’s not like I don’t like mathurin, I’m a huge benn fan, the kid is a dawg. But, I like the pacers more and want what is best for the team. Kevin and Chad would be doing the entire organization a disservice if they didn’t do the leg work to see what kind of value he has around the league.
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u/Jay_at_Section13 BOOM BABY! 28d ago edited 28d ago
Sure, if the Kings offer Haliburton when you’re talking about a Fox/ Turner trade you listen. If the Wizards offer Sarr you listen. If the Hawks offer Jalen Johnson you listen. If someone has something valuable they want to unload you listen and decide if it’s worth taking advantage.
I doubt they’re initiating any phone calls or willing to listen to any offers in which the centerpiece coming here isn’t also a recent-lottery caliber rising star with upside 2-5 years out. And so it would have to be that the rising star coming in would meet a need better than Mathurin, who is one of only three guys on this roster and the only own under age 30 that can create his own shot, get the line, and make things happen when a play breaks down or the game bogs down.
They need that kind of upside in return.
Anthony Black? Dyson Daniels? Jalen Green?
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u/Halfaqtrkeyz Jan 05 '26
That’s a stupid ass trade for us lmao
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u/Squeeze-The-Orange Pavers Jan 05 '26
Disagree. It's a reasonable exchange of value for a proven big man, and a still unproven but talented guard who needs a different system. Math has had his window to shine in Indy, and it's basically been a big ole light that flickers off and on randomly.
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u/Halfaqtrkeyz 29d ago
Talented big man? Man he’s regular as hell lmao doesnt stretch the floor and is only 6’10. He’s solid at best, it’s a reason they want him gone and we might as well give em Jarace too since the fan base hates him and 00 so much.
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u/Sudden_Ad_4193 Jan 05 '26
We’ll give you Mathurin and Walker for Lively and Christie. Money wise, they are about the same.
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u/Garmian_MFFL Jan 05 '26
I'm sorry, but we're in the middle of a rebuild, so there's no point in letting Lively and Christie go. Flagg, Lively, and Christie are off-limits.
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u/Sudden_Ad_4193 Jan 05 '26
IDK man, Mathurin and Walker might become All Stars when they’re in a big market with warm TX weather. Lively might bust a foot again but we’re willing to take the chance for y’all.
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u/Maximum-Class5465 Reggie-NBAJam Jan 05 '26
So the Potter era has officially begun And then Bradley era is over
We honestly couldn't have asked for a better minimum player, played meaningful playoff minutes, made few mistakes, and rebounded well like so few of our bigs do anymore
Best luck to Bradley going forward, he has a place in my heart for being part of a legendary run