No, Avery Bradley is not Joe Dumars.

That said, as we put it a few months ago, there are similarities.

Pistons fans will no doubt consider even mentioning the two in the same sentence, paragraph, chapter, book, or library something of a heresy.

But while even Celtic fans would admit there’s a gap, they also know that —

metaphor crossover alert —

… if you’re talking about what he meant to his team, and where his ceiling is, and what’s in those magical Jedi feet and lightsaber hands, and a quiet demeanor that covers a tremendous heart…

they’re somewhere in the same neighborhood.

Dumars, he is not. Or is he….?

Indeed, comparing them at the same age:

Can’t believe we’re saying this, but somehow, AB was meant to be a Piston, at least for a time.

When we see him again in the 2018 playoffs — that’s up to you, Pistons — he’ll be applauded during the introductions, maybe even on some plays.

Just one warning, and this is straight from Red Auerbach (in our weekly conference call):

The Leprechaun only…. well, you know.

On July 14, 2017, we add this update:

Within days of dashing off the above, we couldn’t help noticing the Detroit News headline

Avery Bradley: Pistons will like my ‘nasty’ game

“I hope I can bring a different style and be nasty. That’s what we want: to bring a championship back to Detroit.”

Hope we haven’t created a Frankenstein….