Tell me about Gerald Green.

[Togo]

As you all know, with the Suns trading Marion, we are looking for another wing that can shoot the 3, and play some D. I know Gerald has incredible amounts of potential. I was curious on a a few things. 1) Why isn't he getting playing time with you guys. 2) With all of his athletic accolades why is his D suspect. 3) Do you think he would be a good fit in Phoenix. 4) What would it take to get him?


Thanks.

[theGreatRC]

Pros:

He is a good shooter with a nice stroke, he plays with energy and he hustles to an extent.

Cons:

Foul prone, gets lost on plays, will leave his man more times than not, loses confidence when his shot isn't stroking, not a good defensive player, and he doesn't make the best decision offensively i.e. take a three-point shot rather than pass the ball to an open man.


He is ridiculously athletic, but I don't even see him using that to his advantage. He would rather take a 23+ footer than take the ball in, it drives me crazy sometimes.

[revprodeji]

I think he would at least be worth a chance in phx. The up tempo style and the stars around him would help.

Piak's ending contract and a future uber protected 1st would be a good situation. You guys sell your 1st off anyway so I think it would benefit us not only to get the first, but stop you from selling it to portland.

[JBoog35]

I think any player with offensive potential would benefit by moving to PHO. I especially think a player like Green would. Phoenix would boost his confidence. I think a protected 1st like Rev said would be sufficient, and I think if he's going to make it anywhere, it'd be in Phoenix.

[dunkonu21]

sucks.

[deeney0]

In general, he's awful. He's a streaky shooter and he can dunk. His handle is overrated. He sucks as a passer. He's selfish. He takes bad shots early in the shot clock. His defense is absolutely atrocious, he never seems to know what he should be doing. Last night, Gerald went in an Kapono immediately lit it up for like 12 straight points. No coincidence.

I don't know what it would take to get him. Probably an early 2nd or a late first.

[shrink]

I think it would be interesting to see what Green would like like with Steve Nash getting him the ball in easier situations.

Green is a unrestricted free agent, so it wouldn't take much to get him. All I'd request is that its something to help starting in 2009

ATL pick is looking like its going to be around #18. Maybe Craig Smith and Gerald Green for the pick, Piatkowski, and Sean Marks?

[mandurugo]

He isn't a basketball player. He'd be great on the Globetrotters though...

[Krapinsky]

He has a ways to go mentally in terms of maturity before his physical abilities even get consideration.

[Basti]

if we could somehow get rid of marko's contract as well I'd wet my pants. we would get rid of the 2 players I don't want on this team (but marko only because his contract)

but let's be realistic: I don't think we can get rid of marko's contract for a better contract if we deal green

[wetsthebed]

I think if he's gonna make it anywhere, it's in Phoenix's offense.

[Mr. Savage]

People who say he is gonna blossom in the Suns offense, have no clue about basketball.

Not gonna say anthing more.

[AWalkerREMIX]

He would thrive in Phoenix. He's never going to become a superstar, but based on his current talents, Phoenix would maximize his potential.

[deeney0]

He wouldn't blossom in Phoenix because D'Antoni doesn't play players who make mistake after mistake. See: Marcus Banks.

[shrink]

You're right about Banks, another player with tons of physical ability but mistake-prone. However, Amare Stoudamire got plenty of playing time as a youngin' making tons of mistakes because of his immense physical ability too. Perhaps its harder to accept mistakes out of your PG, and Banks was a truly bad PG .. he actually had more turnovers than assists through most of the season with PHO.

I don't know. Gerald Green clearly would not cost PHO anything truly valuable, and the potential would be high, playing on an organized, up-tempo team with a truly spectacular PG that could get him the ball in good situations. I'd probably make a deal.

[eloper]

People who say he is gonna blossom in the Suns offense, have no clue about basketball.

Not gonna say anthing more.

Good, because if you're going to ignore other people's opinions yours doesn't deserve to be listened to either.

Shooting
-Gerald can shoot the ball when given consistent playing time, it's that simple. He can hit shots coming off of picks and he can hit the 3 at a high clip. He's struggled this year as almost any shooter would struggle in inconsistent playing time mixed in between DNP-CDs. Last year he put up a .521 TS%, slightly below average. If you ignore the final three games of the year (4-27 shooting), in which he had the flu and was forced into playing because of the Celtics limited roster, he had a TS% of about .54, right at the league average.

Ball handling
-It's not good, but it has shown signs of improvement over where it was last year. Gerald tends to force the dribble sometimes, resulting in ugly turnovers. He shouldn't be handling the ball really, he's best utilized as a catch and shoot guy or a guy you send off screens.

Passing
-When the ball is in his hands, he generally does a pretty good job passing IMHO, and I've seen marked improvement this year in that regard. That said, the ball really shouldn't be in his hands much unless his handle improves. People tend to label him a poor passer because he's a chucker, but in terms of ability, while not much of a playmaker, Gerald also isn't Mark Blunt.

Rebounding
-He has done a good job this year on the glass, but he tends to be streaky in this regard. When his offensive game gets going it seems as if he stops caring about rebounding, which is a bit worrying. A hard ass coach would help him in that regard.

Defense
-Not good, but his struggles are exaggerated. He tends to do a pretty good job in terms of man to man, especially when he's guarding someone of similar build/quickness, but gets lost in team defense at times and can be out-quicked by smaller shooting guards. He can block the occasional shot, but he hasn't shown it this year and doesn't contribute much in the steals or blocks department.


To put things simply, Gerald hasn't had much of a chance in Minnesota. Limited opportunity has resulted in Gerald forcing things while on the court, making him look worse as a player than he was last year. Gerald has the tools, but he needs to be in a situation that fits skillset (run and gun), and needs to be given consistent playing time to play through his mistakes and build confidence. JR Smith's situation leaving New Orleans was very similar, and before AI arrived/some off court issues arose, Smith was a 17 ppg player for Nuggets. A situation like Phoenix could do the same for Gerald.

[mrmossy84]

At least he seems like he cares about the situation...

Kent Youngblood of the Minneapolis Star Tribune: "Gerald Green has mixed emotions about getting the chance to soar in front of the country. In fact, he finds it difficult to think about Saturday's competition when he's trying so hard in practice to earn more playing time. 'It's very difficult,' he said. 'Especially when I feel I should be playing. It's very difficult. But I have to go out there and do [the contest] for my fans and my family and my friends. They want to see me perform. Right now, honestly? That's the last of my worries, to tell you the truth, being the two-time dunk champ. That's fine, I would love to be there. But if I could trade that in for something else, I would.'"

[horaceworthy]

I feel sorry Gerald. He's shown he's good enough to be playing more than he is, and there seems to be a huge double standard when it comes to him and the young wings we have that got their start in the organization. Even in his limited minutes, he looks better now than he did during pre season and at the very start of the year. I'd like to see him go somewhere that he'd get half a chance.