Because he hoped we would have 3 healthy productive centers by playoff time and we desperately needed an athletic, talented back-up swingman.
The trade made complete sense on paper. I don't blame Danny for not foreseeing that this team was so mentally and emotionally fragile or that Jeff Green would have such a difficult time finding his place here.
I agree. I also agree with what you said later about the misconception that we would be cruising if we hadn't made the trade. We would have no backup at the wing.
I personally expect Jeff Green to be a productive player for the Celtics once he finds his groove. I'll gladly give him a 4/25 extension.
That's the problem, though. Jeff will want a lot more than 4/25.
I think so, too. I threw that number out there earlier, but I'm not optimistic that it's a realistic figure; I'm thinking, based on what we saw with guys like Travis Outlaw and Mike Miller and JJ Reddick, you're looking at five guaranteed seasons and somewhere between $35M and $45M.
Even that lower figure I tossed out, though... Even if that WAS to be his marker value, I don't see it as being worthwhile, since Green has proven here (and, to a large extend at Oklahoma City) that he's not really a "build around this guy" kind of talent and signing him to ANYTHING other than the qualifying offer is going to kill any hope of cap space after next season.
With the dollars being equal, Green has no incentive to re-sign here anyway. With all of his mediocrity, SOME team views him as a 30-35MPG starter, and here in Boston there's no chance he starts as long as Pierce is in town (and he clearly doesn't want to be playing PF, not that KG is going anywhere either).