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June 27, 2009
Clevelanders have long recognized Danny Greene as one of the most notorious Irish mobsters of the 20th century. Images of car bombs will hopefully be replaced by three-point bombs as a different Danny Green is now on his way to town. While the near unanimous reaction to the Cavs first round selection was frustration and bewilderment, there is a much more hopeful sentiment for Green. The 2nd rounder and 46th pick is generally being met with approval by basketball pundits and Cavs fans. What can we realistically hope for from the swingman out of UNC?
One writer, ESPN stat guy John Hollinger, was incredibly complimentary of the Cavs choice of Green in the second round. While he is admittedly not a college scout, Hollinger called Green the “best fit” of the draft and authored the following
Were it not for San Antonio’s theft of Blair, Cleveland taking Green at No. 46 would be the steal of the draft. He’s a knockdown outside shooter who hit 42 percent on 3s and 85 percent at the line last season, and he’s a solid defender at the wing with good size. My Draft Rater had him as the No. 8 college player in the draft, and he should be able to contribute right away.
Moreover, this is exactly what the Cavs need. In addition to their inability to contend with Dwight Howard, their biggest issue in the playoffs against Orlando was a lack of wing talent — in particular, wing talent that can knock down all the open looks LeBron James creates. Green helps answer that need.
Brian Windhorst praised the pick as well, tweeting “Excellent pick at this spot. Same mold as Darnell Jackson. Veteran who played with a lot of good players and knows his role. Good defender.”
I think we can expect a wing player who will play stout defense and will be able to fulfill Coach Brown’s intense demands for his players at that end of the floor. I watched a ton of UNC games (hard not to) last year and attended all of the ACC tournament in March when Green had arguably his worst stretch of the season. He basically disappeared on the offensive end which was easy to do for almost anyone on the roster for a few games in that loaded UNC lineup. If he is hitting his threes, he will be able to provide some offensive production in addition to a few buckets in transition. He will not, however, be a pro who can create his own shot and will not provide much offense if he goes cold from long range. That is not any kind of indictment as that characterizes most role players in the NBA and especially those found in the 2nd round. While he may fulfill his role at the defensive end, does that mean he will see the floor any more than Darnell Jackson did in 2008-2009?
My expectations are certainly more tempered than Hollinger’s impressions. Make no mistake, I love the pick in the second round. I have been jilted by too many Cavs picks and seen the low success rate across the board in the NBA that I have a very skeptical opinion when it comes to finding contributing pieces via the draft. I have seen too many players such as Dajuan Wagner, Luke Jackson, Shannon Brown etc. to the point where I was extremely pleased even with the limited production Hickson gave us this year before he found the doghouse/inactive list. Again, I love Danny Green as a player and I think this is more of a comment on the Draft itself outside of the very top of the first round. It is all relative based on what you consider “production” from the 46th pick in the draft. Making the roster? Averaging 5 mpg? 12 mpg? He consistently produced on the most talented team in the NCAA last year so I think we can expect him to make the roster and see at least Darnell Jackson minutes this year…but I doubt he is a significant piece that helps us solve the Magic puzzle as Hollinger intimated.
15 Comments
As a Cleveland native living in Chapel Hill, I couldn’t be more pleased. In the 4 UNC games that I attended this year Green impressed me more than anyone. He was often the only Tar Heel playing defense. Whenever you needed a big play on defense he would provide a big block or steal. In addition, when he is hot with his three’s it’s a huge boost for the team. The guy is fast and athletic and has the size to play in the NBA. I love it… the guy just gives 100% all the time and by all accounts is a class act and a team leader.
Sasha averaged 16.0 mpg in 66 games this year.
D-Block averaged 8.4 mpg in 51 games.
J.J. Hickson averaged 11.4 mpg in 62 games.
Assuming the Cavaliers still manage to sign somebody with their MLE, I probably expect Green to get around 12 minutes per game. Hickson and D-Block will be called upon more this season with the aging of Z and possible loss of Smith/Varejao, thus Green will probably get similar playing time as Sasha..
I certainly hope Green gets more than 5 miles per gallon. That would be horribly inefficient.
so what you’re telling me is he’s essentially boobie but a better defender? i guess i’m okay with that in the second round
And about 4 or 5 inches taller than Boobie. That height is kind of important when you are a shooting guard.
Let’s be real here for a second, he may be a good defender and shooter but we all know the real reason we drafted him. It’s all about the pregame ritual.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqRmNkygo7k
Yeah absolutely Kunal, his skills will be a lot different than Boobie. He will probably be closer to a poor man’s version of Mickael Pietrus than Boobie considering the fact he can still defend and is a good shooter. I just hope we find enough minutes for him and give him an opportunity to develop. We are very short on good young players, and I only wish the best for Eyenga and Green.
I’m just going to be sick when DeJuan Blair turns into Carlos Boozer for the Spurs. How does that keep happening for them?
As a native Clevelander and Duke alum, I like the pick. I’m not saying Green is going to average 20 minutes per game next season but he fits the exact mold of what the Cavs need: a wing defender that can guard multiple positions. At 6-6/6-7, he can guard a 1, 2 or 3 and can do it well. Like someone already mentioned, him and Hansbrough were the only UNC players that actually played defense consistently.
I expect Green to pick up some of the minutes left behind by Sasha and cut into Gibson’s minutes. One thing people really haven’t talked much about is how this pick might eventually make Gibson expendable, if Green can fit in and Gibson continues to struggle with inconsistency. Green is a vastly better and more versatile defender and is 5-6 inches taller than Gibson. And if Boobie isn’t hitting shots, there’s not much of a reason for him to be on the floor. We shall see.
The great part is that the Cavs don’t need Green to create his own shot or be a hero on offense; he just has to play in the flow of the game, hit open shots and defend. That’s the luxury of playing with players like Lebron (and Shaq). Based on what his role was at UNC, I see no problem with executing what Brown will ask him to do. I expect him to play more than Darnell Jackson did last season. This was a great pick by Ferry.
@DocZeus,
I’m with ya. I believe DeJuan Blair is going to be a very, very good NBA player.
A steal is a gross understatement of Cleveland’s opportunity to draft Green where they did. I scratch my head at the Cavs first pick, but the fact they get a player the quality of Danny is nothing if not a stroke of luck. Green is a gifted player in his on rite, but he is a “can’t miss” with his Carolina pedigree.
Ike (Duke Alum), I just noticed that the picture with this posting is one I, as a UNC alum, use as my screen saver. Hopefully, Paulus does better as a QB 😉
Im trying not to think that he is the end all answer right now for the Cavs and try to keep expectations to a realistic level. That said, I would hope he takes at least what Sasha was doing, and anything better is great. I truly hope he becomes a solid role player that will play with Lebron for a while.
As for Blair… I hope he doesn’t become even remotely close to boozer, just so we can say that it wasnt another wasted opportunity for a Cleveland team to get a gift handed to them.
I feel like people were over reacting to this #30 pick WAY too much. It’s kinda like when the Browns first pick was Beau Bell, and just cause he was our first pick people acted like he was the number one overall.
[…] but this time touching close to home, Waiting For Next Year has a piece about Danny Green, and what can be expected of him. Nice piece, but no link to my piece? Tsk […]