Jeff Green has bounced around the league and has always given some reason to believe in his ability. The Orlando Magic will value him for his experience.
Jeff Green smiled when he thought about what was perhaps his best game of a difficult 2016 season.
In the midst of Orlando’s January swoon, the team visited the Memphis Grizzlies and took a lead late into the game. If there was a symbol for the collapse the Magic were going to have the rest of that month, it was done by the man that sat at the dais Thursday accepting a new contract with the Orlando Magic.
“I’m very excited, thrilled with the guys they have here, the coaching staff and Frank Vogel, I think it’s a great fit for myself,” Green said. “The team we have, I think we can do some damage in the Eastern Conference. I’m looking forward to it.”
Jeff Green scored 30 points that game, including the game-winner to complete a nearly impossible comeback that sent the Magic spiraling further downward. This was the game that showed everything Jeff Green could be. He scored, he rebounded and played defense. The versatility and toughness expected from a veteran forward.
These are the reasons why he still gets attention and finds his way onto a roster every season.
Someone always believes in him. The Magic will be the next team to see what he can do.
The Magic remembered that game when they met with Green for dinner Wednesday before he officially signed his contract Thursday, the first day players could sign contracts. He signed a reported one-year, $15-million deal.
That is the player the Magic hope to see more often.
Green is the kind of player that checked every box for what the Magic were looking for. They wanted someone with positional versatility and experience. They wanted someone who had been through Playoff battles before.
“I think you can probably fill in every box,” Green said. “Being versatile, a stretch-4, 3, a leader. I have been through a lot in my career. I have played with some of the greatest. I have learned a lot throughout my carer. I can pass on some of the things I have learned from them to Aaron and Elfrid . It’s an exciting time. But I can also bring a lot to the table on the floor.”
Green hit on a lot of those marks. The question is whether he can do so consistently. That has always been the part that has dogged his career.
He has been a lot of different places and gained a lot of different experiences.
“Jeff is a veteran that brings versatility and depth to our frontcourt,” Orlando Magic general manager Rob Hennigan said in a press release. “He will provide tremendous leadership to our team, both on and off the floor, and we are extremely excited to welcome him into the Magic family.”
Green was originally drafted by the Seattle Supersonics, acquired in the deal that sent Ray Allen to the Boston Celtics, and was part of the initial group growing with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. He was then shipped to the Boston Celtics and played with Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce. His career wound to Memphis and its strong culture of defense the last two years before he was shipped to the Los Angeles Clippers in a mid-season trade.
He picked up a lot on the way. More than his playing consistency, his experience is something he can lend to the team. That experience itself, he said, can help the Magic get to the next level.
“I’ve been where they are trying to get and that’s the Playoffs,” Green said. “I would like to get further than I have been with this team that we have. It starts from communication and chemistry. I’ve talked to a bunch of guys on the team already. They are all eager to get started and all eager to take this to the next level. By me being there by myself and by Serge being there, we can give our experience and we know what it takes. By them watching how we come into the gym every day and work and get better to accomplish that, they just follow the lead.”
The Magic will rely on Green for some offensive and defensive production. He scored 11.7 points per game last year, his lowest since his rookie year, and grabbed 4.2 rebounds per game. He is as likely to score 30 as he is to go scoreless. Consistency has always been something difficult for Green to grasp.
There will certainly be games where Green has it going and will be the guy to close out games. There will certainly be games where Green disappears. That has been the path for his eight-year career.
At 29 years old, Green can lend some experience and a helping hand when the time calls for it.
And that is what the Magic are after with him. It is a one-year gamble for Green on himself and for the Magic on Green to help nudge this team forward.
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“For me, it’s a fresh start,” Green said. “Having this being my first chance at free agency, being able to choose an organization in which the feeling was mutual both ways. It’s a great refresher for me. It’s a great opportunity for myself and for this team to accomplish some things that haven’t been accomplished in a while. I’m looking forward to it. I think it will be a good fit both ways.”