D-League All-Star Game 2012: Gerald Green Is Most Impressive of D-Leaguers

Gerald Green should be in an NBA rotation right now. Green has had a few shots at the NBA, but he needed his maturity level to catch up with his athleticism.

Like all D-Leaguers, he needs to be placed in the right system, with the right coach; see Jeremy Lin. For Green, the talent and desire is there.

Consider these two things:

He is an amazing athlete; He won the 2007 NBA Dunk Contest with several impressive slams. In 2008 he put down the famous blow out the candles slam seen here:

Well, Green still has the hops as he displays here in the D-League All-Star game:

Green was the 18th pick overall in the 2005 draft by the Boston Celtics, so he's seen some good days as a professional. He averaged 10 points per game as a 21-year-old in 2006-07.

Though he is a D-League All-Star averaging 19 points per game for the LA D-Fenders, it's probably not quite what he expected six years ago.

Through the disappointment, he's still chasing his dream. That shows a tremendous amount of fortitude, as many would have given up.

So what is missing for Green?

In my opinion, it's about finding a role. With his size (6'6" 215pounds) and athleticism, he could be an elite defender, ala Tony Allen.

He has everything he needs to be a solid defender right now. He must embrace that role and allow the offense to take a back seat.

With his athleticism, he can add those things to his game as time goes on, but exceptional defense will get him in the league to stay. Once he's there, he can display the other aspects of his game to coaches.

Sometimes the hardest thing to accept for a player is that he must scale his game back to move forward. Most any professional player has been all-everything wherever they came from. That experience makes it hard to settle into a role.

If Green does that, he will be the next D-Leaguer to make an impact in the NBA.