What is Jeff Green's ceiling?

[Megatron]

He seems very raw to me still. Like he still isnt near his potential.

I think OKC did a poor job developing him in my opinion, but you cant blame them when they have ball dominant superstars like Durant and Westbrook on the team who clearly morphed into the teams best players quickly. He also played at the 4 spot where he was facing bigger players every single night putting him at a disadvantage both offensively and defensively.

The biggest knock on Green was that he "sleepwalks" through games, and that he routinely lacks focus, sort of like how our Big 4 tend to play when facing bad teams, just not putting fourth much effort.

I believe he has all-star talent potential, hes athletic, is very long for his natural 3 position and averaged 15/5 as the 3rd option where he was used as a spot up shooter and rarely had the ball in his hands.

Do you guys agree that with the proper attitude he can become much better then he already is? I think he can, what I see is a player who is still in a box, and is partially opened, but half of his talent is still hidden away.

Maybe he isnt a "Give me the ball" and "energy" player we all thought he could be for this team. If he would run more, demand the ball in spots more, exert for energy on both ends, and try to use his athleticism to his advantage I think he could be an all-star one day.

Edit: Im not saying he could be a perennial all-star obviously, but hes clearly an above average player, and is definately not a role-player and would have a much bigger role if he were on another team.

[KungPoweChicken]

I don't think he has all-star talent. Luol Deng has never made an all-star game before. Green isn't better, nor will he be better than Deng. I do think Green can be better than he is now. I've been satisfied with Green's defense thus far. I think he's making a solid effort. But I haven't been impressed with his rebounding. For a guy with his size and length, he needs to be more aggressive on the boards. He has a nice enough stroke, but he is not a three point shooter. I'd like to see him down in the post a lot more than he goes down there.

I think Jeff Green, when he realizes his potential, can be a little be of a cross between a poor man's Deng and Odom, which I don't think is really a bad thing. I like the kid on this team. I'm a fan. But he's also a hard player to utilize. I have faith it will all come together though.

[Megatron]

I don't think he has all-star talent. Luol Deng has never made an all-star game before. Green isn't better, nor will he be better than Deng. I do think Green can be better than he is now. I've been satisfied with Green's defense thus far. I think he's making a solid effort. But I haven't been impressed with his rebounding. For a guy with his size and length, he needs to be more aggressive on the boards. He has a nice enough stroke, but he is not a three point shooter. I'd like to see him down in the post a lot more than he goes down there.

I think Jeff Green, when he realizes his potential, can be a little be of a cross between a poor man's Deng and Odom, which I don't think is really a bad thing. I like the kid on this team. I'm a fan. But he's also a hard player to utilize. I have faith it will all come together though.

A poor-mans deng? Dengs career averages 15/6
Jeff Green is at 15/5

If anything they are closing to being even, if you consider Green is a SF playing at the PF spot being overmatched every single game, we cant judge how he would be his entire career if he was used properly.

Green is more athletic then Deng, but can also play 2 positions, Deng can only play the 3.

He can definately be better then Deng in my opinion. They have the same career stats which is telling.

[raynman]

He's more of a Lamar Odom.. Versatile, athletic, quick... He has to improve on his defense, rebounding and threes, though (especially in the clutch).. I don't think he'll be a go-to guy, though, because he doesn't have that much offensive skills.. but he'll be a perfect #2 or #3 option like, well, Lamar Odom!

[Celtics18]

I think the Deng comparison is fairly apt; good, athletic body, can run the floor, can shoot the ball and finish, has some mid-range game, and can be a very good defender.  However, he doesn't seem to have the explosiveness with the ball in his hands to ever reach that truly elite level like the guy who he's currently understudying. 

[Megatron]

I think the Deng comparison is fairly apt; good, athletic body, can run the floor, can shoot the ball and finish, has some mid-range game, and can be a very good defender.  However, he doesn't seem to have the explosiveness with the ball in his hands to ever reach that truly elite level like the guy who he's currently understudying.  

He does have the explosiveness, he just lacks the consistency and focus of a star player. He is a huge work in progress in my opinion.

There are lots of players who became all-stars later in their careers after putting in work, but its clear to me that he still has alot of potential, but is already an above average player. Only way to go is up for this guy.

[mgent]

Rashard Lewis/Antawn Jamison with worse shooting.

Megatron, you say Green is overmatched by every PF but then you go on to say he can play more positions than Deng.  If you think Green can naturally play either SG or PF then you definitely can't say Deng can only play SF.  I'd say Deng can guard all 3 positions better than Green, and is stronger and a better rebounder.

[Celtics18]

I think the Deng comparison is fairly apt; good, athletic body, can run the floor, can shoot the ball and finish, has some mid-range game, and can be a very good defender.  However, he doesn't seem to have the explosiveness with the ball in his hands to ever reach that truly elite level like the guy who he's currently understudying.  

He does have the explosiveness, he just lacks the consistency and focus of a star player. He is a huge work in progress in my opinion.

There are lots of players who became all-stars later in their careers after putting in work, but its clear to me that he still has alot of potential, but is already an above average player. Only way to go is up for this guy.

Don't get me wrong.  I like his potential a lot.  Maybe "explosiveness" was a poor choice of words.  I don't think he'll ever have that truly well-rounded offensive skill set of superstar small forwards, but I do think he can become a very effective running mate of Rajon Rondo's for years to come.  

[mgent]

He's more of a Lamar Odom.. Versatile, athletic, quick... He has to improve on his defense, rebounding and threes, though (especially in the clutch).. I don't think he'll be a go-to guy, though, because he doesn't have that much offensive skills.. but he'll be a perfect #2 or #3 option like, well, Lamar Odom!

Green's passing, efficiency, and especially rebounding would have to substantially improve if he's lucky enough to become a Lamar Odom.

[ballin]

He's at his potential.

He's been in the league for 6 years... he's not exactly a spring chicken anymore. Further, his game hasn't really evolved or shown drastic improvement in the six years he's been in the league.

Green will always be one of those guys that fools GM's and forces people to use vacuous words like "potential", but in my opinion, he is what he is.

Again, part of the reason why I didn't like trading Perkins for him. He's a good bench player on a contending team (like ours) and nothing more.

[Megatron]

He's at his potential.

He's been in the league for 6 years... he's not exactly a spring chicken anymore. Further, his game hasn't really evolved or shown drastic improvement in the six years he's been in the league.

Green will always be one of those guys that fools GM's and forces people to use vacuous words like "potential", but in my opinion, he is what he is.

Again, part of the reason why I didn't like trading Perkins for him. He's a good bench player on a contending team (like ours) and nothing more.

Rondo is the same age and has yet to develop a mid-range, three point, freethrow, jumpshot, or consistent offensive move in general but people say he is nowhere near reaching his potential.

In terms of being a complete NBA player, Rondo is very raw. He penetrates, has top notch court vision, etc. But when it comes to basic shooting skills, freethrows, all basic guard qualifications, hes terrible. But can improve with work.

Green is definately not at his ceiling. Hes been misused his entire career and badly developed in OKC. Believe that.

[CoachBo]

Green is not six years into the NBA. He is in his fifth year, and his first venture outside a system that failed totally to utilize his talents.

The comments above about focus make me laugh. No one on this blog has any idea about Green's focus, or apparently his career length.

We'll see what his ceiling is, but you can be fairly certain it's higher than as the fifth wheel in Oklahoma City.

[greensamurai]

I agree that he hasn't reached his ceiling. He was misused in OKC and would have never gotten the chance to truly develop behind players who need the ball in their hands like Durant and Westbrook. We see it happen alot, when players play poorly in one system and then move to a different team where they can utilize their skills and they become all stars. Jeff Green has only been in the league for 4 years...we drafted him in 2007. Still has room to grow.

I think he can be like Lamar Odom if he learns to improve his rebounding skills. I think playing with the Celtics and are veterans will help him a lot and I can see him and Rondo keeping the Celtics viable in the East for a while until we get another star player to play for us.

My dream is for PP to teach him his footwork, then he can surpass Odom and maybe, just maybe if he learns to play defense, and I mean superior defense he could be like a poor man's Pippen. Never the sole superstar on a team, but good enough to drop 20+ points a night efficiently and 5 or 6 rebounds with 4 assists a night.

[Roy H.]

I think the gap between Odom and Green is huge.  I just don't see a lot of overlap in their skill sets.

I'll say a more team-oriented Corey Maggette who plays some defense is his ceiling.  It's not a perfect comparison (i.e., the listed caveats), but I think it's the closest match I can think of.

[Celtic#9]

He's at his potential.

He's been in the league for 6 years... he's not exactly a spring chicken anymore. Further, his game hasn't really evolved or shown drastic improvement in the six years he's been in the league.

Green will always be one of those guys that fools GM's and forces people to use vacuous words like "potential", but in my opinion, he is what he is.

Again, part of the reason why I didn't like trading Perkins for him. He's a good bench player on a contending team (like ours) and nothing more.

Rondo is the same age and has yet to develop a mid-range, three point, freethrow, jumpshot, or consistent offensive move in general but people say he is nowhere near reaching his potential.

In terms of being a complete NBA player, Rondo is very raw. He penetrates, has top notch court vision, etc. But when it comes to basic shooting skills, freethrows, all basic guard qualifications, hes terrible. But can improve with work.

Green is definately not at his ceiling. Hes been misused his entire career and badly developed in OKC. Believe that.

Agreed TP. Iwould dare to say offensively Green is just as if not more polished than Rondo. He can spot up at a pretty solid pecentage and is willing to play with his back to the basket. Those are 2 very good points in his game that could turn him into a big threat when they are polished. I would like to see him be agressive in the 2nd unit and take some of BBD's shots. I would rather have him shoot than BBD take a contested 18 footer.

Rondo can set up an offense and pass it to the right person. I would say for being the same age Rondo has a TON more to go offensively than Jeff Green. And I would rather see BBD shoot a contested 18 footer at the end of a game than Rondo the way he has been playing lately.


That being said Green is not even close to being done. I mean how hard is it to learn to play SF when you play PF every game??? I will agree i am fairly unhappy with his rebounding. He should be around 7 rpg the minutes he was playing and more than BBD with the minutes he has now.