THE GREEN MACHINE: The Subtle Emergence of Josh Green

[Dundalis]

I don't want to trade Green. My opinion has changed to Green being the prize if we had to use to him to get another star player. I think Green plus our #1 should be off the table at this point unless it's for Siakim. I would trade Green for Anunoby and we could add some more players on our side, but not our #1.

I don't want to trade him either. But the Kyrie trade changes things a bit because right now he's a 3 month rental. It feels like they almost have to make deals that give them a better chance to win this season. Given the scenario I'd probably do it with the first.

The more I look at Siakam though the less sure I am that he's THAT much better than OG in terms of fit with our team. He obviously has the much more well rounded offensive skillset with his volume scoring and he's turned into an excellent passer. But he has a career TS of 55%, is shooting 31% from 3, and defensively I think he's a clear rung below OG, who is all NBA defense caliber, maybe even DPOY level. OG is a point of attack defender, while Siakam is more the defensive QB type, we absolutely need that POA defender with DFS gone. OG is also 3 years younger (albeit has been less healthy). Siakam would be amazing, but he will also cost much much more asset wise, almost certainly more than we can even offer at this point.

What last night showed me was Green would thrive if we played fast paced and quit letting Luka pound the ball. Green is all energy and hustle. He's not as athletic, but reminds me a little of the Matrix.

Quitting letting Luka pound the ball isn't an option. Luka's half court offense is other worldly, and requires him to spend time basically dissecting defenses like a surgeon. Obviously Kyrie as ball handler completely changes that scenario, and Luka will do it less than he has. Which maybe helps Green. But a lot of Green's issues IMO have nothing to do with what other players are doing and are all about his complete passivity both demanding the ball and taking opportunities to attack when he has the chance. He needs to change that mentality regardless of who he's sharing the court with and not just because the coach gave him a green light because the superstars aren't playing.