Lacking a first round pick in lack week's NBA Draft due to the Jason Kidd trade, the Mavs signed the young and exceptionally athletic 6'8" Gerald Green who is a shooting guard/ small forward.
This could be a great move that pays dividends for years to come. Green is only three years out of high school (and only 22 years old) and has the exciting ability of a Slam Dunk Champ, reminiscent of Dominique "the human highlight" Wilkins. But he also has a very accurate three-point shot (37 percent for his career).
He was originally so highly-rated that it was believed he was going to be the No. 2 pick in the 2005 draft, but he slipped to the Celtics at No. 18. In his rookie season in 2005-06, Green rarely played till the end of the year. Green shined in 2006-07. Due to an injury to Paul Pierce, he stared in 26 games, scoring over 20 points in 15 of them with a high of 33 points.
There have been some questions about Green's work ethic. Hopefully Green is ready to bare down with the Mavs, under their veteran leadership, and realize his vast potential.
Even if the Mavs only use Green during clean-up time it is worth it for fans to stay during the closing minutes just to catch one of his highlight dunks. I highly encourage readers to watch his many dunks on-line from games and the last two dunk contests.
Gerald Green is a great low-risk acquisition for the Mavs with vast potential beyond that of many of those in last week's draft, and is very exciting to watch.
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3 months ago
I would have to agree with you in regards to Green being an excellent pick in spite of the Mavs not drafting anybody. I also hope that he's ready to bear down and realize his full potential!
from 3 months ago
Thanks for your positive feedback.
As a Celtic fan I wanted them to resign him.
Even though the Celtics were horrible in 2006-07, they were exciting to watch due to Gerald's
Dominique-like dunks.
In a wide open running offense with the Mavs Gerald could flourish with his dunks and 3 pointers.
Will keep an eye on the Mavs next year if Gerald gets some playing time.
Thanks again for your feedback.
John Gray
3 months ago
Green needs to get his head together. The problem with some of these "Straight-from-HS" guys is that they never learn how to play defense. Ever.
Green is a soft player. He doesn't work hard. He can't play defense. He's careless with the ball. He doesn't pass the ball, ever. His shot is inconsistent, regardless of his career three-point numbers. He barely cracked the lineup on a terrible Celtic team and then given up on by an even worse Minnesota team.
Those are issues that he's going to have to overcome if he's going to be successful in the NBA.
And please, PLEASE do not compare him to Dominique Wilkins...he's more like a smaller, less talented Dee Brown.
from 3 months ago
Thank you for your repsonse.
I agree Green has much to learn to succeed at the pro level and should have gone to college.
Would probably be most suitable if he spends time overseas and/or at least the Developmental League.
Was most disappointed when he stunk up the Summer League last year when I was hopign to see him flourish and provide many highligh dunks. Green was so bad I was surprised Minnesota took him in the Kevin Garnett trade.
But, Gerald is a most exciting dunker who can hit the three. Howard's cape did not deserve as many votes as he did for throwing the ball into the hoop.
Hope Gerald Green can round out his game. If so, he has a future in the NBA otherwise off to
Europe he goes with his dunking show.
3 months ago
Wow, I thought this kid's NBA career was over. Wasn't he released mid-season (after the All-Star break) after he was traded by Minnesota to some other team (I can't remember which)? I read a story on it at the time, in which the writer talked about this Greene's attitude and lacking work ethic.
Hopefully, now that his NBA career has been revived, he dedicates himself to improving his game and his approach to the profession.
3 months ago
More on Green from today's Dallas News:
Meanwhile, the Mavericks also got an intriguing player in Green, 22, a slender, 6-8 shooter who has been in the league for three seasons.
When Green came out of high school in 2005, then-Mavericks assistant coach Del Harris saw the freakish athlete at a prep tournament and didn't need anything else to formulate his scouting report.
Basically, the kid would have been wasting his time in college. He was an NBA-caliber talent at age 18.
"The only question is whether he is ready mentally for the league," Harris said.
More than three years later, we know the answer. Green wasn't ready.
The Mavericks are hoping Green's maturity and emotional level have caught up to his still unquestioned physical skills. He underwent a physical Wednesday after agreeing to a one-year veteran-minimum contract worth $826,629.
His agent said Green had offers for up to the full bi-annual exception, which is worth $1.91 million. But at this point in his young career, the situation was more important to Green's future than the money.
"He's made a commitment to come to Dallas because of the coaching staff and a situation that should be more beneficial to him, long term," said Houston-based Tony Dutt, the primary agent for Green. "He's at the point in his career where he's got to make that turn."
Drafted by Boston with the 18th overall pick in 2005, Green was a chip in the trade for Kevin Garnett.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/basketball/mavs/stories/070308dnspomavslede.3390c08.html
3 months ago
Gerald Green had the Summer League highlight of the day :)
Another good dunk, but the surprising part is that he set it up by playing defense and stealing the ball:
http://broadband.nba.com/cc/playa.php?content=video&url=http://boss.streamos.com/wmedia/nba/nbacom/summer_league/spod_080711.asx&video=blank&nbasite=nba
for his sake a stepping stone of things to come.
Too bad Gerald could not reach his potential with the Celtics though.
3 months ago
Great Article, John. I feel the same way, I even wrote about it then saaw this article afterward, feel free to check it out.
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