Just tweeted this whole "mini-article" through my @postgameonline handle, and wanted to share the information here. Please remember these are tweets, so there are short, possibly strange grammatical statements, much repetition, and various stats. However, when I rewrote it, I tried adjusting some points of interest for journalistic integrity.
And he only has 4 1/2 fingers on his right hand.
Originally posted by Postgame Online
In his 23 games since returning to the NBA from a three-year hiatus, the New Jersey Nets’ Gerald Green has had six 20+ point games, including tonight’s 32 against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Green’s last season in the NBA spanned 44 games, which he played for the Dallas Mavericks in 2008-09. His five 20+ point games are the most since his sophomore season with the Boston Celtics in 2006-07.
In his sophomore season, Green had fifteen (15) 20+ point games, including a career-high 25 points in a loss to the Dallas Mavericks (a future Green-holder). He later topped his career-high with 33 points in a loss to the Atlanta Hawks, a game during which Paul Pierce was injured.
The starting lineup for the Celtics for the Hawks game was: Rajon Rondo, Ryan Gomes, Allan Ray (not Ray Allen), Kendrick Perkins, and Green.This game occurred in an 8-game stretch where Green averaged 19.25 points per game. However, the Celtics won only one game in that stretch, in which Green matched his then-career high of 25 points to beat the Cavaliers.
After a breakout 2007 season, Green was infamously traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Kevin Garnett (the second trade to occur that would assist in finally sending the Celtics back to the Finals). He was overshadowed in Minnesota for 30 games, and requested a trade thusly. By late February, Green would be traded to his hometown Houston Rockets, only to be released a week into March.
Green spent a very lackluster season in Dallas in 2008-09, and eventually signed with a Russian team in December 2009, for the ‘09-10 season. He saw some NBA Summer League action in 2010 with the Los Angeles Lakers, but signed with another Russian team after Summer League ended. He moved to China in October 2011 to play for the Foshan Dralions, but was released shortly after in December.
After Boston, Minnesota, Houston, Dallas, Russia, and China between 2005 and 2011, Green signed with the Los Angeles D-Fenders of the NBA D-League on December 28, 2011 (my 21st birthday). It is with the D-Fenders that Green made the NBDL All-Star team, and was awarded the 2012 NBDL All-Star Game MVP.
Mere weeks after his MVP honors, Green would sign back-to-back 10-day contracts with the New Jersey Nets in late February 2012, and would later sign for the remainder of the season.
With the resuscitation and resurrection of his NBA career, Gerald Green has earned his role on a struggling, rebuilding, and possibly tanking Nets team. He’s proven he can still compete with NBA talent, and with Gerald Wallace out with a hamstring injury, look for Green to receive starting minutes for the Nets, and more responsibility and freedom as he develops.
Green has deserved starting minutes to this point, and if he does so, he would be standing on the court at tip-off with Deron Williams, MarShon Brooks, Kris Humphries, and Shawne Williams; not an awful crop of players, but definitely one of potential. Williams, Brooks, and Green could be an incredible trio looking toward the future of the Brooklyn Nets.
With positive results, Green could be a huge piece for the Nets next year, and coming years. Or he could earn a good contract for another team, becoming a valuable asset and a product of the potential that he seeped in his first two years in the NBA. Green showed a lot of promise prior to his unfair trade and bench burial, and then failed to please any team enough to find him worth the money to keep.
Similarly, the Indiana Pacers’ own Paul George has shown slivers of this same kind of development: topping, matching, and topping career-highs, exhibiting massive amounts of potential, and even performing with a relative skillset. However, George was removed from his own burial with the firing of former coach Jim O’Brien. After proving himself in two seasons, don’t expect the Pacers to pass on him as easily as Boston passed on Green.
Even if a Kevin Garnett-at-that-time-level player is available, Larry Bird understands the importance of a young man’s development, and is likely to ensure that he can continue to flourish in the hands of Frank Vogel. Unfortunately, Green did not receive the same amount of respect, nor freedom.
But Green is on his way back to fame in the NBA. His American professional career has been resuscitated and resurrected, so expect for him to prove his worth, earn his place, and turn a very lucky team into a very happy team.
Green’s last season in the NBA spanned 44 games, which he played for the Dallas Mavericks in 2008-09. His five 20+ point games are the most since his sophomore season with the Boston Celtics in 2006-07.
In his sophomore season, Green had fifteen (15) 20+ point games, including a career-high 25 points in a loss to the Dallas Mavericks (a future Green-holder). He later topped his career-high with 33 points in a loss to the Atlanta Hawks, a game during which Paul Pierce was injured.
The starting lineup for the Celtics for the Hawks game was: Rajon Rondo, Ryan Gomes, Allan Ray (not Ray Allen), Kendrick Perkins, and Green.This game occurred in an 8-game stretch where Green averaged 19.25 points per game. However, the Celtics won only one game in that stretch, in which Green matched his then-career high of 25 points to beat the Cavaliers.
After a breakout 2007 season, Green was infamously traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Kevin Garnett (the second trade to occur that would assist in finally sending the Celtics back to the Finals). He was overshadowed in Minnesota for 30 games, and requested a trade thusly. By late February, Green would be traded to his hometown Houston Rockets, only to be released a week into March.
Green spent a very lackluster season in Dallas in 2008-09, and eventually signed with a Russian team in December 2009, for the ‘09-10 season. He saw some NBA Summer League action in 2010 with the Los Angeles Lakers, but signed with another Russian team after Summer League ended. He moved to China in October 2011 to play for the Foshan Dralions, but was released shortly after in December.
After Boston, Minnesota, Houston, Dallas, Russia, and China between 2005 and 2011, Green signed with the Los Angeles D-Fenders of the NBA D-League on December 28, 2011 (my 21st birthday). It is with the D-Fenders that Green made the NBDL All-Star team, and was awarded the 2012 NBDL All-Star Game MVP.
Mere weeks after his MVP honors, Green would sign back-to-back 10-day contracts with the New Jersey Nets in late February 2012, and would later sign for the remainder of the season.
With the resuscitation and resurrection of his NBA career, Gerald Green has earned his role on a struggling, rebuilding, and possibly tanking Nets team. He’s proven he can still compete with NBA talent, and with Gerald Wallace out with a hamstring injury, look for Green to receive starting minutes for the Nets, and more responsibility and freedom as he develops.
Green has deserved starting minutes to this point, and if he does so, he would be standing on the court at tip-off with Deron Williams, MarShon Brooks, Kris Humphries, and Shawne Williams; not an awful crop of players, but definitely one of potential. Williams, Brooks, and Green could be an incredible trio looking toward the future of the Brooklyn Nets.
With positive results, Green could be a huge piece for the Nets next year, and coming years. Or he could earn a good contract for another team, becoming a valuable asset and a product of the potential that he seeped in his first two years in the NBA. Green showed a lot of promise prior to his unfair trade and bench burial, and then failed to please any team enough to find him worth the money to keep.
Similarly, the Indiana Pacers’ own Paul George has shown slivers of this same kind of development: topping, matching, and topping career-highs, exhibiting massive amounts of potential, and even performing with a relative skillset. However, George was removed from his own burial with the firing of former coach Jim O’Brien. After proving himself in two seasons, don’t expect the Pacers to pass on him as easily as Boston passed on Green.
Even if a Kevin Garnett-at-that-time-level player is available, Larry Bird understands the importance of a young man’s development, and is likely to ensure that he can continue to flourish in the hands of Frank Vogel. Unfortunately, Green did not receive the same amount of respect, nor freedom.
But Green is on his way back to fame in the NBA. His American professional career has been resuscitated and resurrected, so expect for him to prove his worth, earn his place, and turn a very lucky team into a very happy team.
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