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2022 Free Agents - Danny Green

Summary
Danny Green got a lot of hate during the Lakers championship run in 2020. Some of that was warranted, as Green did miss a lot of open shots. For someone like Green that doesn't do a whole lot offensively besides shoot 3s, it certainly hurts his value when he's not hitting at a high rate.

However, I do think Green got more hate than he deserved. I believe Green is one of those players whose impact goes beyond just what shows up in the stat sheet, and many people don't understand his impact or notice everything he does well. I know playing next to Kawhi Leonard and Lebron James is the biggest factor, but I also don't think it's a complete coincidence that Green played for two championship teams in a row, and was on a contender in Philadelphia in the last two seasons as well.

On defense, Green isn't a lockdown perimeter defender, and has probably lost a step or two due to age, but he's still a solid defender on-ball and overall makes the right rotations. He has always been one of the best fastbreak defenders in the league.

On offense, he may go cold through stretches, but he doesn't take bad shots, and overall knows how to make the right basketball play. Green's shooting declines are certainly concerning, but he still shot above-average from three at 38% in '21-'22.

After tearing his ACL in the 76ers' final playoff game, Green will likely miss most, if not all, of the '22-'23 season. Before his injury, I didn't expect Green to be waived, but now I expect the 76ers to let him go and get his $10 million salary off their books. There's a chance Green could return for the 2023 playoffs, but by the time he recovers he will be nearly 36 years old coming off a major injury, so unfortunately his career may be in jeopardy.
 
Cap Considerations
Green's $10 million salary for 2022-2023 is non-guaranteed, and if he is waived he will become an unrestricted free agent and the 76ers will have no form of Bird rights on him.

If Green becomes a free agent, other teams will have multiple ways to sign him as even teams without cap space could possibly use the Non-Taxpayer MLE, Taxpayer MLE, or possibly even the Room MLE or Bi-Annual Exception to sign him. Since he will likely miss the majority of the year, he will likely only get minimum offers, and may even just go unsigned until 2023.

Potential Teams: Clippers, 76ers, Trailblazers, Heat, Lakers

Predicted Contract: 1-year, $2.9 million ($1.8 million cap hit) with the Clippers

Actual Contract: Not waived: $10 million
Before he got injured, I didn't expect Green to get waived. However, after the injury I expected him to get waived since he would miss most of the '22-'23 season. Green's contract was partially-guaranteed to facilitate the trade to Memphis, and made the roster as of opening night.

Last updated: 10/17/2022

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