Los Angeles Lakers guard Avery Bradley has opted out of playing in the NBA’s Orlando restart of the season, he told ESPN on Tuesday night.
Bradley, who started 44 games for the Lakers this season, informed Lakers management of his decision to stay back.
At the forefront of Bradley’s decision to remain with his family is the well-being of the oldest of he and his wife Ashley’s three children — his 6-year-old son, Liam.
Liam Bradley has a history of struggling to recover from respiratory illnesses and it’s unlikely that he could have been medically cleared to enter the Orlando bubble with his family.
“As committed to my Lakers teammates and the organization as I am, I ultimately play basketball for my family. And so, at a time like this, I can’t imagine making any decision that might put my family’s health and well-being at even the slightest risk.
“As promised also, I will use this time away to focus on the formation of projects to help strengthen my communities.”
Bradley has been a co-leader with Brooklyn‘s Kyrie Irving of a players coalition that has sought to have several issues centered on social justice and racial equality and empowerment addressed with the NBPA and NBA in the league’s restart.
Bradley has been a key two-way player for the Lakers, who are the Western Conference’s No. 1 seed heading into the 22-team restart in Orlando.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope would be the likely candidate to replace Bradley in the starting lineup. The Lakers will be able to sign a replacement player for Bradley.
Bradley stands to lose a projected $650,000 in salary by sitting out the season’s resumption. Bradley has averaged 8.6 points and 2.3 rebounds for Los Angeles this season.
In a decade in the league, Bradley has averaged 11.8 points through his stays with the Boston Celtics, Detroit Pistons, LA Clippers and Memphis Grizzlies.
