Pacers Exercise Option On Former Tar Heels Star Tony Bradley

Tony Bradley thought it was monumental he made the Indiana Pacers playoff roster. Then he thought it was spectacular he played in the NBA Finals. Imagine what is going on in Bradley's head now that the Pacers exercised their team option and will keep him next season on a $2.94 million contract.

Michael Scotto of HoopsHype reported it first. The Pacers signed Bradley in March as a backup center. He signed two 10-day contracts before he was picked up for the rest of the season. He earned $300,000 for the balance of the year, plus the team had an option for next season.

Exercising the option was a no-brainer for Indiana. It does not present much of a risk, while it has a high reward. He proved his worth on the two 10-day invitations and then worked his tail off to get the ticket to stay for the rest of the season.

Indiana was 48 minutes short of a World Championship, losing in Game 7. Bradley came in off the bench and held his own and did what was required of him.

Bradley still has to work hard an earn a spot on the roster as his contract is not guaranteed as most NBA contracts are. The Pacers have the right to release him without him seeing a penny of the contract.

The former Tar Heels star appeared in 14 games in the regular season for Indiana, scoring 4.4 points and pulling down three rebounds per game. He played well in the playoffs and appeared in 11 games against the New York Knicks and the Oklahoma City Thunder. He opposed big men Mitchell Robinson and Isaiah Hartenstein.

In the 2017 NBA Draft he was a first-round pick of the Utah Jazz. Fresh off helping North Carolina with a national title there were big expectations for Bradley. He spent time riding the benches of the Philadelphia 76ers, the Thunder and the Chicago Bulls. He then spent two seasons in the G League before having his contract assigned to the Pacers.

Bradley has numbers going for him. The Pacers have to see how invested they are in Bradley. Starter Myles Turner is a free agent and coach Rick Carlisle said bringing Turner back is high on his list. Backups Isaiah Jackson and Thomas Bryants are both free agents and looking to go somewhere they can attain more minutes.

Hopefully Bradley will play well enough in training camp to stick with the Pacers, or at worst, be able to catch on with another team who saw his work in the NBA postseason.

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