Danny Green 'Wasn't Shocked' Lakers Traded Him to Thunder for Dennis Schroder

Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press

Former Los Angeles Lakers forward Danny Green "wasn't shocked" by the news that he would be traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder in a deal that brought Dennis Schroder to Los Angeles, he told Melissa Rohlin of Fox Sports.

"I was just seeing where I was going," he said. "I was like, OK. Obviously, everybody is getting better. And I knew even when I signed (in L.A.), the contract that I signed for was going to be hard to maintain, was going to be hard to stabilize, especially with the pieces."

After the Thunder acquired Green, they sent him with Terrance Ferguson further east to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for Al Horford, two draft picks and the draft rights to Vasilije Micic.

Green, who spent the bulk of his 11-year career with the San Antonio Spurs, was signed by the Lakers to a two-year, $30 million contract last summer. He joined LeBron James and Anthony Davis en route to an NBA championship—his third—inside the league's bubble at the Walt Disney World Resort.

In his lone year with the Lakers, Green appeared in 68 games as the team's starting shooting guard, averaging 8.0 points on 41.6 percent shooting to go along with 3.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.3 steals.

The 33-year-old said the team was "actively looking for a playmaker" at the end of last season to "give 'Bron a rest," with the 35-year-old King and Davis averaging 51.4 points and 13.4 assists per game, per Rohlin. The Lakers have been active elsewhere this offseason in an effort to repeat, with three-time All-Star Marc Gasol, Sixth Man of the Year Montrezl Harrell and Wesley Matthews also joining the roster this month.

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Green told Rohlin that he harbored no hard feelings toward the Lakers for dealing him:

"There's no love lost at all. You know, they gave me a contract that I never dreamed that I would ever get, and playing in a city I never thought I would play for and winning a championship. It just so happens that you can't maintain that; that's hard to do that. But I got a championship, I got a ring and I did get an unbelievable contract. I couldn't dream as a kid—never thought I'd be making that in my life."

With the 76ers, Green will provide veteran leadership for young stars Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons under newly hired president of basketball operations Daryl Morey and head coach Doc Rivers.