Gerald Green: A Career At The Crossroads

*Gerald Green**‘s career has taken him all around the world, and now he faces the crossroads yet again*

Houston. Boston. Minnesota. Houston again. Dallas. Russia. China. New Jersey. Indiana. Phoenix. Gerald Green’s career basketball trek befits a vagabond, nomad or rogue. His story is equal parts destruction, disappointment, reclamation and perseverance, and he’s at yet another career crossroads.

Gerald Green of the Phoenix Suns has the rare quality of being able to be a “two-way wow” player — meaning he can impress and frustrate the hell out of us equally. He’s made a career out of promises and glimpses of greatness. There’s no question — he’s the most frustrating player in the NBA.

Let’s take a stroll down memory lane to see how we got to this point. Green was the No. 18 overall pick of the Boston Celtics in the 2005 NBA Draft. Coming straight out of Gulf Shores Academy in Houston, Texas, he was a McDonald’s All-American and it was obvious early that he could put the ball in the bucket:

Green led all players in the 2005 McDonald’s All-American game with 24 points, though his team would lose 115-110. He played alongside future NBA’ers Monta Ellis, Amir Johnson, Mario Chalmers, Luke Zeller, Martell Webster and Tyler Hansbrough. It bears noting that he had just one rebound, no assists and five fouls. We didn’t know it at the time, but “Gerald being Gerald” was just getting started.

THE BOSTON YEARS

Gerald’s rookie year was underwhelming, as he struggled to crack the Celtics regular rotation and instead spent much of the year in the NBA’s D-League. The Celtics went just 33-49, but Green couldn’t bump Ricky Davis, Paul Pierce or Wally Szczerbiak (acquired in mid-season trade) from the lineup.

In 374 minutes over 32 games with the Celtics, Green would average just 5.2 points and 1.3 rebounds, with a respectable .478/.300/.784 shooting line.

In his sophomore season, Green found opportunity in the form of injuries to Pierce and Szczerbiak, as he started 26 games and appeared in 81 in total. He’d average 10.4 points and 2.6 rebounds with a shooting line of .419/.368/.805. Green also had his official introduction to the NBA fanbase with a win in the 2007 NBA All-Star Dunk Competition:

He was becoming known as a super-athletic guard with tons of raw talent and upside. In retrospect, he looked awfully one-dimensional. An interesting tidbit — apparently Green remembers the fans, as I recently overheard him fawning over the Boston fanbase and how viciously loyal they are.

Green also remembers these years as a lost opportunity, as he talked to WEEI in Boston about it in 2010:

"“I would have to say those years, I was taking everything for granted. I was just thinking, ‘It’s just going to happen’ instead of making it happen and applying myself to make it happen. I would’ve been more of a student of the game instead of just trying to use my scoring ability. I had a great coach in Doc (Rivers) that I should have listened to him more. I was listening, but it just wasn’t clicking. I regret those things and I think that comes with being immature, not applying myself.”"

BACK TO THE BENCH

Green went to the Minnesota Timberwolves in part of the deal that brought Kevin Garnett to the Celtics. Timberwolves coach Randy Wittman went with Rashad McCants as his starting shooting guard, with Corey Brewer coming in as his replacement (no surprise, that team went 22-60).

Gerald struggled badly with his inconsistent playing time and the team fared even worse, going 1-21 in the first 22 games that Green appeared in. Gerald shot just 33.9 percent while averaging 12 minutes per game. He (through his agent) had enough and requested a trade.

Green was still an interesting commodity, though. He was able to stay relevant in the eyes of the NBA because of his elite leaping ability, as he continued to show at the 2008 Dunk Contest:

As a Wolves fan, I was left frustrated, wondering why we had to live through the McCants era while this uber athlete was stuck on the bench. It was just a few weeks later that the Wolves would cut bait, trading him to the Houston Rockets for Kirk Snyder, a second-round pick and cash. The Rockets would give him a single four-minute stint before releasing him.

Ken Williams (Green’s HS coach) shed some light on the struggles that Gerald had early in his career, from this Grantland interview:

"“Gerald is the kind of player that a coach has to believe in. The coach he’s got now believes in him. All the guys he played for didn’t believe in him. They just had him because he had talent. If you believe in Gerald, he’ll do some stuff for you and the coach that he’s got now, he could get it out of him like I could. If you’re holding him out and not believing in him, he’s not going to play like he should.Doc held him down because it was Paul Pierce’s show. They wouldn’t let Gerald do nothing, man. They started telling me he didn’t like to work out. I heard a lot of bad stuff. I couldn’t believe some of the things. We’re talking about a kid who would leave my practice and go practice again, every night, and they’re telling me the kid doesn’t work out.”"

ONE LAST CHANCE (FOR NOW)

The 2008 offseason offered the 22-year-old Green another chance in the NBA, this time with the Dallas Mavericks. The general consensus was that Green was too one-dimensional, but as Mavs President of Basketball Operations Donnie Nelson said, “he possesses youth, athleticism and is a young player we think has real upside.”

I was just in a tough situation in the offseason. I didn’t go to anybody’s training camp, which was the worst mistake of my life, I think.”

When a player is joining his fourth team at age 22 and teams talk about upside, that’s basketball carny for “we really hope his basketball mind develops, because despite his athletic ability he’s not much of a basketball player right now.”

Green’s Mavs stint would go very much like his previous stops — he couldn’t beat out a 35-year-old Jason Kidd, a 31-year-old Jason Terry, or even Josh Howard or Jose Barea for any time in the backcourt. When he did play, he was underwhelming — averaging just 5.2 points and 1.4 rebounds in 9.9 minutes per game.

It sounds cruel, but the NBA seemed to agree — if Green couldn’t improve under coach Rick Carlisle and if he wasn’t getting better playing next to legends like Dirk Nowitzki and Kidd, then he was done. He was saying the right things, but it wasn’t translating to his game:

"“When you’re winning, it’s a whole different atmosphere. I didn’t understand a winning atmosphere until I got to Dallas. When I got to Dallas, that’s when I understood, ‘Wow. We’ve got to really take things seriously. These people don’t play.’”"

OFF TO EUROPE AND ASIA

International Basketball can be looked at in two different ways. Yes, it’s professional basketball and it’s a lifeline for those who want to play for a living but aren’t good enough to be in the NBA, but for a guy who had a chance in the NBA and is still young — it’s purgatory.

To his credit, Gerald (publicly) didn’t take it that way. In an interview with RealGM, he noted how he was happy to be in Semara, playing professional basketball.

I know a lot of people who don’t have a job. I am truly blessed to be in Samara and playing basketball.

Green played with PBC Lokomotiv-Kuban in 2009-10 before being waived, then played with BC Krasnye Krylya in 2010-11 before heading to China to play with the Foshan Dralions. In four games with the Foshan Dralions, Green averaged 26.5 points with four rebounds per game. He had a terrific shooting line of .500/.465/.909, but ended up being released in December of 2011, barely six weeks after being signed.

Just 11 days later, Green found himself signing a contract with the Los Angeles Lakers.

BACK TO THE BIG SHOW

Instead of getting to join Kobe Bryant and the Lakers for the lockout-shortened 2011-12 season, he was waived just nine days after signing. Luckily, his short stint in China was enough for the Los Angeles D-Fenders to give him a chance.

After averaging 19.1 points and 2.6 rebounds (along with a NBA D-League All-Star Game MVP Award), Green finally got the break he needed.

The New Jersey Nets threw Green a lifeline in the form of a 10-day contract. For the first time in his career, Gerald made the most of his opportunity. He’d parlay that 10-day contract into a second one and then into a contract for the remainder of the season.

Green scored in double digits in 20 of his 31 games, including going over 20 points seven times. His best game came in a home win over the Cleveland Cavaliers, when he scored 32 points on 11-for-18 from the field (5-for-7 3P) in 37 minutes off the bench.

It appeared as if Green had showed the world that he’d improved enough to belong in the NBA, if for nothing else as a sparkplug off the bench. Heck, Green even held opponents to a paltry 9.9 PER, according to 82games.com.

“In the offseason I don´t work on dunks, I work on basketball skills. Don´t get me wrong, dunking is a nice aspect to have…but I don´t want to be labeled as a dunker. In high school, I wasn´t labeled as a dunker, I was labeled as a scorer. Once I got to the NBA, I was labeled as a dunker. I´ve worked so hard over my career to be more than just that.” – Gerald to SLAM Magazine

Gerald was rewarded with a three-year deal worth an assumed $10.5 million with the Indiana Pacers.

DIFFERENT GAME, SIMILAR RESULT

One of the big changes in Green’s game from the time he flamed out of the NBA at age 23 until the time he returned at 26 was the desire to become a better jump shooter. Green shot 39.1 percent from the 3-point line with the Nets in his limited time (48.1 percent from the field), but it was obvious that he wasn’t as interested in being “just a dunker” anymore.

It bears noting that Green went from an average shot distance of 14.2 with the Mavs to 16.4 with the Nets, 17.8 with the Pacers and 18.0 with the Suns.

In Indiana, Green found himself — wait for it — stuck behind Lance Stephenson and Paul George. He didn’t help his cause by shooting just 36.6 percent from the field and the fact that he was a defensive liability on the No. 1 rated defense in the league meant he wasn’t getting much playing time. His 1,080 minutes were ninth-most on the team.

If it feels like a common theme that Gerald has bought himself some time with terrific play — only to ultimately disappoint in the long run — you’re catching on well. He always does enough of this to stick around:

After a disappointing loss to the Miami Heat in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals, Gerald found himself with some financial security but little did he know he’d have (another) new locale.

The Pacers traded Green with Miles Plumlee and a first-round pick to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for Luis Scola.

CAREER RESURRECTION, SUBSEQUENT DESTRUCTION

At this point in Gerald’s career, we knew what he was going to bring. He had become a serviceable 3-point shooter, he still had the insane athletic ability that enabled him to get chance after chance in the league, but he had yet to find a place that fit him well. Phoenix would become that place.

Gerald resurrected his career with the Suns, as rookie coach Jeff Hornacek loved Gerald’s energy and scoring ability off the bench. Green would appear in all 82 games in 2013-14, scoring 15.8 points with 3.4 rebounds in 28.4 minutes per game. He shot a career best 40 percent from the 3-point line and was fourth in the NBA in makes (204).

That little part about the fact that the Suns got 6.3 points worse with Gerald on the court? The part about him being lost defensively? The part about him seemingly going rogue, ignoring coach Hornacek’s instruction? It’s always been that Green does enough of this to make his deficiencies get swept under the rug:

It took a year, but it finally came to light in 2014-15.

Starting the season, Green was slotted in next to Isaiah Thomas as a lethal 1-2 offensive punch off the bench. Unfortunately, things started shaky. Green had a very telling stretch of games where he scored 16, 26, 11, 6, 19, 28, 0, 26 and 7 points.

Hornacek subscribes to the theory that a hot Gerald is worth riding and a cold Gerald is worth benching. That’s a slippery slope, as it causes players to get tight if they miss their first few shots, fearing they’ll be benched. It relies heavily on the coach and their feel for the player, for better or worse.

That’s exactly what happened with Gerald, as he started getting shots up more quickly than he ever has. Through April 6, Green is attempting 26.6 field goal attempts per 100 possessions, a whopping five more shots than last season.

“We’ve got to continue to work. We just have to listen to coach. Coach has given us great guidance and a great path to follow. As long as we follow his lead success is right around the corner.” – Gerald to Suns.com

Coach Hornacek knew that he would live by the Green and would die by the Green, but Gerald’s inconsistency was more than making or missing shots — it began to bleed more into a lack of effort and focus. Green started finding himself lost defensively, he started turning the ball over too much and he was overdribbling.

Part of this is Green’s desire to be “more than just a dunker,” as he’s said numerous times to the media since that SLAM interview. He believes he is a more complete player than that, but his attempts to play facilitator too often result in turnovers. Green is on pace to set a career high in “lost ball” turnovers, as he’s just nine behind last season, despite playing 1,000 less minutes. Very simply put, he’s a square peg trying to fit into a round hole.

The legendary Phil Jackson nailed Green’s issues right on the head well before any of us knew the role issue would continue to haunt him:

"“You look at Gerald Green, that kind of kid, and you go, `Wow, these kids are so talented. He can shoot. He can dunk. He can jump.’ But the problem is they don’t know how to play and they don’t know how to fit a role. They don’t know what the job requires for them to be part of a team.”"

All the frustration came to a head on January 30 against the Chicago Bulls, when Green logged his first DNP-CD (did not play/coaches decision) of his tenure with the Suns. Since then, he’s had seven more of those. On that night, I asked Hornacek about it and was given the canned “it was about matchups” response.

Since that benching, Green has averaged 7.6 points and 1.7 rebounds in 14.7 minutes per game with a horrid shooting line of .394/.262/.611. He’s been active on the bench and has been a vocal supporter of his teammates, but it’s clear that his game is not coping well with the inconsistent playing time.

WHAT’S NEXT?

The Suns had a decision to make at the deadline and most of us believed that Gerald would be on the move. In a shocking turn of events at what was a very busy deadline, the Suns held onto Green.

Gerald has made a career out of his ups and downs and late this season has undoubtedly been one of the downs. Then, in what feels like the seventh go-round, just when we get ready to write Gerald off for good, he turns around and does this:

There’s no question that someone is going to take a chance on Gerald. Scoring off the bench is a valuable commodity, especially for a team that has a solid defense and just needs some strength from their bench. By all accounts, he’s liked in the lockerroom and when he does speak to the media, he says all the right things.

He once delivered a great quote that applies to his situation today:

"“Everybody wants to be a superstar. I understand that probably won’t be me. I just want to be a productive player in this league. When I retire, I want people to look at me and say, ‘Gerald Green, he was a winner. He brung it every night. He didn’t give up.’ And that’s what I want to be about. I want people to remember me not just as a dunker.”"

Perhaps Gerald has taken an introspective look at himself and realizes that he must improve and he must change or he’ll be on the outside looking in again. Phil Jackson was right — if Gerald wants to be that winner, if he wants to be remembered as more than just a dunker, he needs to take stock of his abilities and he needs to understand how to fill a role.

Will he do it? If his career up to this point is any indication, Gerald will find a way to spring back using his resiliency and remarkable ability to figuratively (and literally) rise above everyone.

Next: Which Suns Free Agents Should Stay?

Gerald Green‘s career has taken him all around the world, and now he faces the crossroads yet again