Green’s lack of multi-year offerings did not go unnoticed. After agreeing to another minimum deal, with Jazz in 2019, Dwyane Wade said in viral post on Twitter: “I don’t understand how and why Jeff Green continues to sign these one-year contracts as a minimum. This is now 3 years in a row. He has never been injured, he has never had problems in the locker room, he is athletic, he can shoot a three-pointer, he can guard multiple positions and he is not old. “
DeAndre Jordan, Green’s friend and teammate from the Nets, called it “a bit unfair”, but added: “Obviously the teams want him because he’s still getting a signature.”
In a year.
Instead, Green settled for a living as a professional basketball nomad.
Green, a native of Cheverly, MD, began his NBA trip in 2007 after three years in Georgetown. He was placed fifth by the Boston Celtics overall and was immediately replaced by the Seattle SuperSonics in the package for Ray Allen. Sonics had already drawn Durant in second place. Because of Green’s athleticism and scoring ability, there was hope that Green would become a star next to Durant.
That never happened. At its best, Green has shown a talent for scoring, but not much else – which helps explain why he failed to settle with one franchise. And while in some cases an NBA player could bounce due to concerns about the presence of a locker room, Green has a positive reputation off the field.
Kevin Ollie, a teammate from Green’s in Oklahoma City after the franchise moved to Seattle, said Green’s personality was “airy” but “detail-oriented” on the floor. “You see the hard work, but then you see the love behind it,” he said.
Ollie knows what it’s like to move around: He’s played for 11 teams, one more than Green. He is one of them 200 teammates with whom Green has played in his NBA career. Ollie said that one of the challenges of playing for so many teams is the constant eradication of his family, especially his children. Green said his wife Stephanie “makes it very simple”.
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