Ranking the Best Free-Agent Landing Spots for Danny Green This Offseason
Danny Green enters 2015 free agency as one of the unique players on the market, someone who is both overrated and underrated, simply depending on which NBA team is in question.
Some franchises—like his current team, the San Antonio Spurs—are obvious landing spots. However, other squads might not make as much sense when addressing four factors: money, playing style, individual success and team success.
According to Ken Berger of CBS Sports, Green will command $10 to 12 million per season. Consequently, all teams mentioned must have a legitimate way to sign the shooting guard.
5. New York Knicks
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The New York Knicks don't grade out particularly well in the team-success facet, but they're appealing for the three other categories, plus one notable wild card: home.
Green was born and raised in New York, and he heads back East every summer to host a skills camp. The Knicks should try to keep him from leaving.
According to HoopsHype, the Knicks have $36 million to work with this offseason in an attempt to build around Carmelo Anthony. Plus, no matter which prospect New York selects at No. 4 in the 2015 NBA draft, that shouldn't change Green's expected value to the roster.
Langston Galloway emerged as the starting point guard—even if only in the short term—but he's not a long-distance threat. Theoretically, Tim Hardaway Jr.'s biggest contribution is his shooting range, but he posted a meager 34.2 percent clip.
The Knicks don't need to merely bolster their three-point arsenal. No, they have to find the first functional weapon, and Green would immediately bring spacing to a team that failed to understand that concept last year.
New York scored a league-worst 91.9 points per game last season. The Knicks desperately need Green to come home, and the franchise has the money to reward him handsomely for his efforts.
4. Milwaukee Bucks
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To be clear, the likelihood of Green signing a contract with the Milwaukee Bucks is low. To be frank, he'd be a tremendous addition to a promising young squad.
Milwaukee sold on the 2014-15 campaign when it shipped out Brandon Knight and acquired an offensively challenged point guard in Michael Carter-Williams—who still managed to lead the team in scoring.
The Bucks are relying on Jabari Parker to develop into a dominant scoring option, considering that they surrounded him with lengthy defensive-minded players all over the floor. Parker is working back from an ACL injury.
Green, on the other hand, would offer the same above-average defense yet still provide an offensive punch. The North Carolina product would also replace what Ersan Ilyasova (who was recently traded to the Detroit Pistons) contributed from outside, and Green would limit O.J. Mayo's playing time—a win-win for Milwaukee.
Plus, since the Bucks have $22 million in cap space, per HoopsHype, they could ink Green and restricted free agent Khris Middleton to new deals, give Parker complementary weapons and continue trending upward.
Milwaukee earned a 41-41 record last season. With Green in the mix, the Bucks would only improve.
3. Dallas Mavericks
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Monta Ellis has guided the Dallas Mavericks backcourt for the last two seasons, averaging 19.0 points per outing and missing just two games. But 2014-15 may have been his final year in Dallas.
ESPN.com's Tim MacMahon reported Ellis is expected to opt out of his contract, and the Mavs won't pursue re-signing the shooting guard. Dallas could replace Ellis with Green, who offers a handful of clear benefits to head coach Rick Carlisle and Co.
Green shot 41.7 percent from long distance in 2013-14 and 2014-15 combined, while Ellis managed a dismal 30.4 percent mark. Green's perimeter spacing would free up Chandler Parsons—the team's big-money addition last summer—to become the primary ball-handler and shot-creator in the Mavericks attack.
Should Ellis leave Dallas, which finished 50-32 during the regular season, the front office will have $35 million to spend, per HoopsHype. The Mavs can afford Green, and they're a tremendous fit for him, too.
2. Portland Trail Blazers
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The Portland Trail Blazers could exit the summer as the biggest losers of free agency, since star power forward LaMarcus Aldridge might sign with another team.
But it could get worse for Portland. Shooting guards Wesley Matthews (unrestricted free agent) and Arron Afflalo (player option) could exit Rip City, too. Approximately $15 million would be off the books from those two players alone, so the money would be there for Green.
The chief criticism of Green is that he's a system player. Though there's some credence to that statement, Green would fill the exact same role—make a bunch of threes and play a lot of defense—for the Blazers as he has done for the Spurs.
Green would likely be encouraged to increase his shooting volume, and a three-point weapon like him would probably salivate at that opportunity. Matthews launched 7.4 triples per game last season, and Afflalo hoisted 3.6 more.
Portland earned the Northwest Division title, and with or without Aldridge in 2015-16, the Damian Lillard-led unit will contend for a playoff spot once again.
1. San Antonio Spurs
5 of 5Green's best fit is his current location, but San Antonio finds itself in the toughest financial spot of his potential suitors.
Although the Spurs have $34 million in cap space, per HoopsHype, they also have nine free agents, including Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, Kawhi Leonard and Green.
Would Green accept a hometown discount—sorry, not you, New York—to remain with the Spurs? Perhaps, since he's solidified a starting spot, is a key piece to a potential Spurs championship run and has expressed a desire to return.
In short, as noted by Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express-News, Green said, "Hopefully, I'll be back. I love San Antonio."
The three-and-D asset has been at the receiving end of head coach Gregg Popovich's verbal outlashes (warning: NSFW language), so it's worth wondering whether Green is interested in subjecting himself to those experiences anymore.
However, Green could've bolted a couple of years ago, yet he elected to stay. Now, he has the opportunity to play alongside a rising superstar like Leonard and prolong an already-successful career.
If Green doesn't force himself into an offensive role that he's not capable of handling—which includes but is not limited to handling the ball—there's no reason why the soon-to-be 28-year-old can't earn another raise a few summers from now.
Regardless, can San Antonio afford to keep Green right now? While the Spurs are the best fit, they might not be the best financial option. Loyalty exists, but it doesn't always trump a payday.
Follow Bleacher Report NBA writer David Kenyon on Twitter: @Kenyon19_BR.
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