THE GREEN MACHINE: The Subtle Emergence of Josh Green

[omahen]

I've been a Green supporter (wanted the Mavs to draft him in 2020) and then criticized him a lot this season when he struggled. But I think I support him again, even though it's too late for him here. His problems on offense have more to do with the roster and lack of a scheme. He's just not a good fit for this current Mavs roster and style of play.

Remember, he was drafted when the core was Luka/KP so there was supposed to be room for development as a SG. Then the roster changed and especially last year, once they acquired Kyrie, that meant most of the minutes at guard would be filled by their two superstar scorers. Green has had to play as an undersized 3 and D wing instead of being able to develop as a guard. It seems like that has stunted his development. He's only 6'5" without bulk/strength so he has a physical limitation against bigger wings. When you don't have a size advantage, you need to develop ball-handling abilities and more offensive skills but it's hard for him to do that here when his role is to go stand in the corner and wait for a three.

He needs to go to a team where he is allowed to develop those skills instead of just standing in the weakside corner waiting for the ball to move. The time would be right to trade him this offseason...his new contract isn't that bad to take on for a team that likes him. A few teams probably view him the same and he can eventually be a solid all-around guard in the right situation. His best days in his career are still ahead, it just won't be for the Mavs

Hardy is even smaller and he has zero problems getting his in his minutes. He doesn't just stand in the corner and watch stars. He takes the ball and tries to do something. Sometimes he is even successful. Green has same opportunity to develop his offensive skills in the offseason as Hardy does. Greens role is as it is because he doesn't take more. Either because he doesn't have the skill or because he is "affraid" to do it.