Gerald Green: A Cautionary Tale

Gerald Green was drafted by the Boston Celtics as a possible future star for the Boston Celtics.  Danny Ainge saw him as the perfect segue to the Paul Pierce era.  At 6'9" tall, he had the freakish athleticism, ranginess, and shooting stroke that had  everyone drooling.  Thanks to YouTube, during the summer of his content prior to the draft we saw clip after clip of the amazing athleticism of this kid. 

From the moment he knew he was on the NBA radar his handlers gave him a false sense of self.  Yes he had NBA talent but he was extremely raw.  He scheduled workouts with teams who had picks in the first six selections of the first round. 

Other teams did not have the opportunity to see him and that may account for his availability at the 18th pick.  The Celtics were only to happy to get him but only after the Pacers beat them to the punch by selecting Danny Granger with the 17th pick.  Obviously he was not their first choice but they were happy with the consolation prize of Gerald Green. 

I remember being so excited after being sucked in by his amazing dunks and forays to the hoop.  I even bought his rookie card and bought his slam dunk Celtic t-shirt.  I was in heaven. I had never really warmed up to Monsieur Pierce and well I had been smitten by G-Money. 

It soon became apparent that betting on him was phony money. Because the Celtics were so young and Pierce was to miss the bulk of the season he got unlimited playing time. Because Doc had no choice he did his best to cover up his flaws.

At the time I was in living in Fort Lauderdale in the wilds of anti-Celtic country.  I had to have the NBA league pass so I could overdose on all the Gang Green news I could.  I had even gone so far as to purchase tickets for the final Heat game against the Celtics.

The day came, I had spent a pretty penny to get as up close and personal as I could with close to courtside seats.  I even had the opportunity to ask Tommy Heinsohn about Gerald Green.  He told me the Celts were very happy with him. 

Finally the game started and my other favorite player was lighting Shaq up.  Al Jefferson was just becoming the walking double double he is now.  I saw a promising future for these young brash men in green. As I watched the game I felt like a jilted lover.

Gerald Green looked lost out there; his defense was non-existent, and his shot selection was absolutely horrible.  I wondered to myself how this guy ever made it to the NBA.

I still believed in him, but the kid needed to work hard and often.  After the 2006-07 season, he was shipped to Minnesota in a deal that netted the Celtics Kevin Garnett.  Shortly thereafter, Minnesota traded him to Houston for spare change.

Not even a month later, he was cut from the team, a team that, after Yao,2 averaged a mere 6'7" and could have used his height and length. During the 2007-08 offseason, Dallas signed him and gave him every opportunity early to become a major contributor.

He now needs a tweezer to remove the painful splinters he gets from the permanent fixture to his derriere.  Most of his images from Getty are from his days with the Celtics.

In spite of it all, I would like to see the Celtics trade for him and have KG scare him to doing what is necessary to be a complete player.  I believe that is where he needs to be.  KG, Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce have the temperament to help him hone his unlimited skills.

It is now the halfway mark of the NBA schedule. Dallas will either cut him by the trading deadline or let his one year contract run out. Green's career is salvageable because he is still young; however, his window of opportunity to grow into an elite player may not extend beyond the next year. 

Will Trader Dan take a chance like he did with Antoine Walker and bring home another prodigal son?  Only time will tell.