Ainge: Fans expectations of Jeff Green are not right

[rondohondo]

DA is spot on with Green.

some fans thought 9 mill should equal 25+ points a game, but how many players getting payed under 10 mill are averaging numbers like that? A hand full. And some of those guys are getting payed for what they did before their scoring outburst, like DeRozan.

Green would be a good second scoring punch next to an elite scorer. A guy who gets you around 15 every night, sometimes drops down to 8, but than can explode for 30+.

Also some of the bump of Greens contract might have a little to do with him letting the C's cut him the year he went down the the heart problem. Kind of a thanks for being a sport bonus. Which is a plus side to the organization.

Add a Melo or Love next to Green and you could have a good 1-2 punch.

green is in no way a 2nd option on a contending team , 4th at best .

let's look at some of the 2nd scoring options on contenders ...

OKC = Westbrook
Hou = Dwight Howard
Clippers = Blake
Miami = Dwade
 

Green is a role player

[NYDan]

More so than the numbers, it's the eye test that frustrates me with Green. Those stretches of passive play, not getting involved, just being there on the court. Call it consistency, call it Stevens not running him enough plays, it's been a common occurrence throughout the season despite plenty of lip service about mindset and staying aggressive.

He's not grossly overpaid, he's clutch, he doesn't force things and he's a good guy. There's things to like about JG for sure. The hope was there that he could reach another level after leaving OKC which didn't really materialize, not his fault. But in a season of evaluation, is this kind of player our starting SF for the next 4-5 years, a piece to a championship puzzle? That's the real question I hope Danny and his team are contemplating.

[Kane3387]

Green gets paid half of what Lebron and KD do bc he's half the player they are.

He's actually on a good salary considering what melo, gay, and Paul George make.

I don't think he's overpaid. He's the fourth best player on a contender. He plays like it and is paid like it.

I completely agree with Ainge. Green is actually consistent at being that kind of guy. He's capable of going off every five games and being quiet every five games with mediocre games where he gets you 14-18 ppg in between.

He is a role player but a role player capable of producing like a star which is why he gets 8 mill instead of 5-6 like a Brandon bass. You pay him that extra 2 mill a year bc of that ability to play like a superstar 20% of the year and not just a role player 100% of the year.

[Kane3387]

More so than the numbers, it's the eye test that frustrates me with Green. Those stretches of passive play, not getting involved, just being there on the court. Call it consistency, call it Stevens not running him enough plays, it's been a common occurrence throughout the season despite plenty of lip service about mindset and staying aggressive.

He's not grossly overpaid, he's clutch, he doesn't force things and he's a good guy. There's things to like about JG for sure. The hope was there that he could reach another level after leaving OKC which didn't really materialize, not his fault. But in a season of evaluation, is this kind of player our starting SF for the next 4-5 years, a piece to a championship puzzle? That's the real question I hope Danny and his team are contemplating.

Depends on the pg, sg, pf, and c

[LooseCannon]

Ainge has a misunderstanding of fans expectations.  I don't think anyone expects Green to score 25-30 every night, but there certainly should be an expectation of more consistency within his numbers.  He shouldn't have numbers that look like this:

39
16
8
14
18
8
36

That is too much of a yo-yo.  That is the issue.  Now granted his shot attempts are certainly more consistent, but his foul shot attempts are not (which is indicative of his lack of aggression a lot). 

I disagree.  For a 15-16 ppg scorer, I would rather have numbers like this rather than consistently scoring between 12 and 19 points almost every night. 

[Yoki_IsTheName]

I don't think anyone expected that Green is a superstar. He's indeed a very good player who can score and defend. 

But everyone thought he'd be consistent. There will be time that he'll drop 36 and then take 11 shots the next game. Consistency is all we are asking for Uncle Jeff.

I'd personally wouldnt mind a bad shooting night as long as he's shooting, but sometimes he just disappears.

[cb8883]

Can't blame Ainge for defending his biggest mistake in the last few years. You trade a title when you went all in on KG Pierce and Ray for a chronic underachiever. Then if that wasn't bad enough you resign him to a bonkers deal and have him replace Pierce going into this year. I'm sure no one thought he would be Melo but being consistent isn't too much to ask. Ship his terrible contract out so Ainge can finally admit publicly that the trade was a mistake.

[saltlover]

I like Jeff, but I think there are three reasons fans expect more from him.  One is his fault, one is sort of his fault, and one is not his fault at all.

1) The reason I expect more is because occasionally he has those monster games, that a lot of players never have.  He's got the ability to do it, so I want him to do it more.  He doesn't have to score 30 every night, or even 20 every night.  But his off games shouldn't be 8.  And they shouldn't happen as often as his 30 point games.  I think that's on Jeff.

2) He's not a top banana, but he plays a position where a lot of teams find their top banana.  The fact is in today's NBA, scoring comes from the 3/4 hybrids who can shoot from outside and explode to the rim.  Green is that type of player -- he's just not as good at it.  The expectations are partly due to his peers at the position, and that's somewhat on him.  But Danny's right -- he's not getting paid anywhere near what guys who are better at that than him are getting paid (unless they're still on their rookie deal like Paul George). 

3) He's replacing Paul Pierce.  When Jeff Green has a bad game, I mostly get annoyed because I remember Jeff Green's good games, but sometimes also because I miss Paul Pierce.  It's not Green's fault, but it's his lot in life.

Bonus Reason: Some fans delusionally think we would have won a title in 2011 but for trading Perkins, despite the fact that Perkins had not much in the tank that year and not much since, despite the fact that OKC has made one finals and won zero titles since Perk has been on that team with Durant and Westbrook and Ibaka, and despite the fact that Wade ripped off Rondo's arm in the playoffs.  And they blame Jeff a little bit for this.

[celts10]

Bonus Reason: Some fans delusionally think we would have won a title in 2011 but for trading Perkins, despite the fact that Perkins had not much in the tank that year and not much since, despite the fact that OKC has made one finals and won zero titles since Perk has been on that team with Durant and Westbrook and Ibaka, and despite the fact that Wade ripped off Rondo's arm in the playoffs.  And they blame Jeff a little bit for this.

I don't know if we would have won a title, but our record with Perkins on the team was pretty darn good. Weren't we the top team in the East heading into the All-Star break that year? And Perk only played in a handful of games during the season up to that point.

I know Marquis Daniels suffered his season-ending injury just a couple weeks prior to the trade deadline. I wonder if Danny would have pulled the trigger on the Perkins/Green deal had Daniels not suffered his injury...or at least wait until the offseason? I guess he just wanted a serviceable backup to Pierce at that point.

[LilRip]

people are frustrated with Jeff Green because during the stretch where Rondo was injured, he was supposed to be the best player on the team, something he only was sometimes (consistency!).

I think another source of frustration is that he was supposed to be a leader, but he just doesn't seem to have leadership qualities.

TBH, $9m/yr is a pretty fair contract.

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

Jeff Green is a great third or fourth option. The current roster doesn't have two or three definitively better options on offense, so some fans expect him to be better than the third or fourth option ... but that's just not who he is. Get a couple better scorers on this team, and then Green is comfortably situated right where he should be.

So, should Danny trade him (either because he's making the team "too good," or because he doesn't have the players around him to ensure he stays in his proper role)? Sure, if he can get someone better. Otherwise, no. Boston already has its PG of the present and future, a stud power forward, and a versatile wingman who's a good defender and can explode for 35 on any given night. Unless Danny gets a too-good-to-pass-up deal, you fill in the gaps around those three.

[saltlover]

Bonus Reason: Some fans delusionally think we would have won a title in 2011 but for trading Perkins, despite the fact that Perkins had not much in the tank that year and not much since, despite the fact that OKC has made one finals and won zero titles since Perk has been on that team with Durant and Westbrook and Ibaka, and despite the fact that Wade ripped off Rondo's arm in the playoffs.  And they blame Jeff a little bit for this.

I don't know if we would have won a title, but our record with Perkins on the team was pretty darn good. Weren't we the top team in the East heading into the All-Star break that year? And Perk only played in a handful of games during the season up to that point.

I know Marquis Daniels suffered his season-ending injury just a couple weeks prior to the trade deadline. I wonder if Danny would have pulled the trigger on the Perkins/Green deal had Daniels not suffered his injury...or at least wait until the offseason? I guess he just wanted a serviceable backup to Pierce at that point.

The Celtics were 33-10 before Perk returned, good for a .767 winning percentage.  With Perk they went 8-4, good for a .667 winning percentage.  They lost their game on the day of the trade deadline, partly because they were short on players (this is when we were introduced to Chris Johnson the First), but then won their next 5 games before going 10-11 down the stretch.  The story of the fractured, post-Perk locker room is a nice tale, but again, they won their first 5 after he was traded, so I don't know.  They embarrassed the Knicks in the playoffs, and then lost to Miami.  I doubt they would have beaten Miami regardless, but it was over once Rondo went down.

Also, it's not like we didn't get a center in return for Perk.  Nenad Krstic was a fine player who for whatever reason didn't fit on this team. Also, Perk didn't play for about a month after he was traded to OKC, so he was really not fully healthy yet at the time of the trade.

Anyway, back to Green -- this is his lot in life, to be forever connected to fans dreams of what might have been.

[LilRip]

So, should Danny trade him (either because he's making the team "too good," or because he doesn't have the players around him to ensure he stays in his proper role)? Sure, if he can get someone better. Otherwise, no. Boston already has its PG of the present and future, a stud power forward, and a versatile wingman who's a good defender and can explode for 35 on any given night. Unless Danny gets a too-good-to-pass-up deal, you fill in the gaps around those three.

why fill in the gaps around those three? i would think Green (and maybe Sully as well) are more of the perfect 'gap-fillers' rather than players you 'fill gaps around'.

[DesertDweller]

Too much whining on this blog and not enough commitment to "THE GREEN RUNS DEEP". I have been skeptical myself about different players and moves that have been made but it seems there are a lot of fans on this blog that believe in perfection and anything less is unacceptable.
It's too the point where if the C's win a couple more games like the last two against the Magic and Philly, I fully expect to see bodies lit on fire in protest in front of the TD Garden!!!
On another note, my biggest disappointment has been Kelly Olynyk who really just needs to get tougher and also for some reason he seems so clumsy. for the short time he was in the Philly game early he lost the ball twice, committed two fouls and put up a brick before Stevens yanked him. I really hope the kid can turn it around.

[Kane3387]

So, should Danny trade him (either because he's making the team "too good," or because he doesn't have the players around him to ensure he stays in his proper role)? Sure, if he can get someone better. Otherwise, no. Boston already has its PG of the present and future, a stud power forward, and a versatile wingman who's a good defender and can explode for 35 on any given night. Unless Danny gets a too-good-to-pass-up deal, you fill in the gaps around those three.

why fill in the gaps around those three? i would think Green (and maybe Sully as well) are more of the perfect 'gap-fillers' rather than players you 'fill gaps around'.

Agree with both posts here. You don't trade green unless it's in a move or sequence of moves to land that number one guy. He's not a guy you fill around but a guy you use to fill around. We need that number one guy. Easier said then done but history shows you need that to win.

A guy like green you use to get that guy or you keep him and out him next to one when he's attained by other means.