The OKC Thunder traded for Tony Bradley at the trade deadline with the Philadelphia 76ers. They gave up George Hill and, in return, received Bradley, and two second-round draft picks, one in 2025 and the other in 2026. They also received Austin Rivers from the New York Knicks before waiving him.
Given that Hill had a $10.2 million deal for the 2021-22 season, this was a good deal for the Thunder.
He was only guaranteed $1.3 million, but if Oklahoma City did not make the trade, they would have either overpaid Hill or lost him for nothing. Instead, they got Bradley’s expiring deal which gives them flexibility.
The Thunder are the fourth team that the 6-10 fourth-year center has been on in the past 12 months.
He ended the 2019-20 season with the Utah Jazz before being traded to the Detroit Pistons prior to the season starting. Five days later he was traded to the 76ers where he played just 20 games.
He was then traded to the Thunder at the deadline.
The OKC Thunder seem to value Tony Bradley
Bradley has played 21 of a possible 27 games since his arrival with the franchise. With Al Horford being shut down for the season, the Thunder were very tall at the center position, but Moses Brown and Aleksej Pokusevski are not built to battle underneath with some of the bigger centers.
Bradley is 6-10 and 248 pounds, meaning that he can put a body on the bigger guys without being moved around as easily. He also had his most productive time with the Thunder, going for career highs in points (8.7), rebounds (6.1), and minutes per game (18.0).
He has been a solid one-two punch with Brown at the center position.
OKC Thunder season highlights for Tony Bradley
Bradley has had seven games where he has scored ten points or more for the OKC Thunder. This is a tremendous number given that he is a very defensive-minded center. Compare this with the four double-digit games he had for the 76ers and it seems he is fitting in well with the Thunder team and systems.
However, it was against his old club from this season that Bradley had his best performance. He collected his only double-double for the OKC Thunder and only his second for the season.
Bradley finished 16 points and 14 rebounds to go along with three blocks and an assist.
Bradley is known for his defense and he had four games where he blocked two shots or more. In three of the four games where he did this, he also had double-digit scoring nights. This shows that he could be a valuable backup for the Thunder next season, depending on who they start with.
Bradley is not the type of player who is going to have huge amounts of highlights throughout the season. His solid, dependable play will hopefully get him a deal with the Thunder next season as he has certainly developed since his time with the Jazz
OKC Thunder contract and season grade for Tony Bradley
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Bradley was in the final year of his rookie-scale contract. This season was worth $3.5 million which, when compared to Hill’s $9.6 million deal was well worth the trade. The Thunder did take on Rivers’ $3.1 million deal in the same trade but waived him.
Still, this was a $3 million saving on a player who was not going to be with the team long term. On top of this, Bradley averaged 8.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, 0.9 assists, and 0.8 blocks in 18.0 minutes per game. He even shot the ball at 65.6 percent from the field.
He is also in the final year of his deal so the Thunder can either re-sign him or move on depending on how their 2021 offseason pans out.
Contract grade: B+
As Bradley only played the last two months of the season, it is difficult to give him a full season grade. However, what he did do was come in and produce off the bench, backing up second-year man Moses Brown solidly.
His arrival also allowed the Thunder to shut down Horford whose play was not helping the Thunder lose. This season was all about getting the best possible selections in the 2021 NBA draft and Bradley was a better option for the team to achieve this goal than the veteran.
Season grade: C+