Boston Celtics' Jeff Green Has 1 Year to Prove That He Is More Than "Good"

Danny Ainge has positioned the franchise to either rebuild around Rajon Rondo and possibly Jeff Green or acquire a superstar either this year or clear cap space for the 2012-13 season.

Ainge has always coveted two players: the Hornets' Chris Paul and current Celtic restricted free agent, Jeff Green; since he couldn't get the latter, he settled for Jeff Green.

The direction Danny takes depends on whether Chris Paul and Dwight Howard sign an extension with the teams they are traded to. Once again, the best laid plans of commissioner Stern and the NBA owners have done nothing to stop the phenomenon of the creation of the so-called  "super friends" teams.

Green is an intriguing talent, and at 6'8'' he brings a unique skill set.  His ability to stretch the defense and post-up against smaller 3s and 4s provides the Celtics with a lot of options. Alas, he let the specter of the Big Three shrink his game and frankly, became a liability to the team.

The rest of the 2010-11 season saw veteran players like Paul Pierce quickly lose faith in him. Green never could find consistency at the beginning of his Celtic tenure.

Boston has decided to give him one more year, albeit, in a shortened season.  Donny Marshall of Comcast Sports New England, quoted Green as saying that he was "pretty (expletive) good."  Well, that is all well and good, however, the Celtics require much more from him than being good.  

His skills warrant him being part of the great Celtic tradition of small forwards, ala Paul Pierce and Larry Bird.

To help him, the Celtics traded Glen Davis to the Orlando Magic for Brandon Bass.  This was a shrewd move on Celtic management's part; they got financial relief and found a way to provide more playing time for Green at his more natural position of small forward.

He knows the history, but the question is: does he want to make and be a part of the championship pedigree in Boston?  

Jeff has the opportunity to take advantage of the extended playing time he will receive because of the grueling 66 game schedule.  

If he buys into Doc's philosophy of defense first, then he could very well serve as a deterrent to LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony, overwhelming teams at the small forward position.

Green may very well decide next year that he wants no part off Danny's grand experiment to turn him into a Celtic. 

If he doesn't, the Celtics' $9-million man may have just lost his battle with greatness and become a card-carrying member of the journeyman's club.