Los Angeles Lakers: Expectations are high for Danny Green
Danny Green was signed to a two-year, $30-million deal and is expected to play a major role for the Los Angeles Lakers.
As soon as Kawhi Leonard announced he would sign with the Los Angeles Clippers on July 6th, Rob Pelinka found himself in the tough situation to have to quickly assemble a competitive team with what was left on the market. He did a heck of a job building a contending team filled with shooters and defenders to surround LeBron James and Anthony Davis. His first major move was signing free agent Danny Green to a two-year, $30 million deal.
Unlike last year, when he and Magic Johnson decided to take a road never explored before and surround James with ball handler, this time he opted for a known, safer way, since the experiment did not pan out as expected.
Primary objective was hitting the market hard for 3-point shooters to place all over the arc to stretch the floor, freeing the way for LeBron James, and ready to hit a shot whenever he kicks it out.
Green is the flag of this new approach embraced by the Lakers, the premiere 3-and-D player of the NBA.
As the first representative of this movement in the league, he was also the first role player to be signed to a major contract (four-year, $40-million), by the San Antonio Spurs, when the historic salary cap spike was just around the corner.
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Green was an important member of the Spurs for the following years. Despite ups and downs he maintained his reputation around the league as a tenacious defender and 3-point threat, contributing to San Antonio’s success. However, they included him in the package that sent Kawhi Leonard to the Toronto Raptors.
It was a blessing for Green. He conquered the second championship of his career and shot a career-high 45.5 percent from three, which was second-best in the league. He made the most of this contract year and capitalized on it, managing to increase his income with the LA’s offer.
The shooter has been added to the Lakers roster and is expected to fill the starting shooting guard job. As arguably the best 3-and-D role player of the league at 32-years-old, he is expected to be the perfect fit next to LeBron James and there will be big expectations on him and his performances.
Danny has shown the ability to be a major threat throughout his years in the league, shooting a career 40.4 percent from three with almost five attempts per game. Defenses have to be aware of his presence behind the arc and he will force them to make hard choices between him, LeBron driving and AD in the paint.
His offensive game is not of a kind affected by age soon, so hopes are he will have a career season in purple and gold, bringing his championship experience and contributing big on the floor.
Green better come prepared and maintain expectations, otherwise the Lakers’ free agency will be considered a big failure. Just in case, players like Avery Bradley, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Troy Daniels will have to be ready to step up and fill big shoes in crunch time.
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Besides the signing of DeMarcus Cousins, added to a ridiculous price, Green was the hit of the Lakers’ market and his addition was met with great enthusiasm by Lakers Nation. Although for just two years, he is going to receive big money and be considered to be able to live up to those numbers in a team whose minimum expectation is the championship.