Life and times in the NBA: the journey of Avery Bradley and Kris Joseph

Camerato has been killin' it all season with these insightful looks into the lives of professional athletes. She's quickly becoming the Celtics' Oprah. Today, she delves into Avery's journey from high school to the pros and Kris' childhood on the mean streets of Montreal. Here's a snippet from her article on Bradley:

Though initially opposed to the idea of attending Findlay, Bradley put aside any teenage angst and approached the program with a professional demeanor. The coaches knew the first time they met Bradley on campus, he understood why he was there. He had a job to do and there was no doubt he was going to accomplish it.

"Avery was a quiet, very serious individual," said Peck. "He was a very task-oriented person -- 'Tell me what I need to know and what the list of to-do's is here immediately, and let me just start tackling them now.' "

Todd Simon, Findlay's former assistant coach and current head coach, immediately noticed a maturity level uncommon to teens of Bradley's age.

"He was [conscious] of what was going on," said Simon. "You could tell he had a bigger view of things and people in general. He was very serious and very driven about his work. He knew exactly what he was here to do, academically and basketball wise what his objectives were. He handled it like a mature adult. Never pushed the limits, never had an issue with anybody, he was just real solid. You could tell the drive that he had superseded everything else a normal teenager would put as a priority."

There's a reason why Danny Ainge doesn't want to include AB in any trades: he's just such a great kid. As much talent as Demarcus Cousins might have, I'll take Rudy over Smash Williams.

I really liked Kris Joseph, but in the end, he suffers the same fate as guys like Bill Walker and J.R. Giddens. As long as Paul Pierce is around (and now, Jeff Green), Danny Ainge isn't looking for a do-it-all small forward. The team is in win now mode and the C's need size. Hopefully, he'll catch on with another team or spend the rest of the year in the D-League and be available to Boston next summer.