Gerald Green on his return: ‘My heart and soul is in Houston’

“I’m not working for the name on the back of my jersey,” Green said Wednesday at training camp. “I’m working for the name on the front.”

Following a Lisfranc fracture in his left foot at a relatively advanced NBA age (34), native Houstonian Gerald Green wasn’t sure whether he’d get another shot to play for the hometown Rockets.

While acknowledging the difficulty of the October 2019 injury, Green says his foot now feels completely healthy, and he’s thrilled to be back.

“The Rockets didn’t have to give me another opportunity,” said Green, who agreed to a non-guaranteed, one-year contract earlier this week. “I’m very thankful. I’m ready to show the world that I’m back.”

Then, as he often does, Green made it clear that the opportunity was even more special based on it being his hometown squad. In comments from Toyota Center, where training camp activities are now underway for the 2020-21 NBA season, Green said this to reporters:

My heart and soul is in Houston. I’ve got so many tattoos of Houston, it’s not even funny. It makes it easier for me to get up out of bed and go to work. Because I’m not working for the name on the back of my jersey. I’m working for the name on the front of the jersey.

I just want to be able to do whatever I can to make sure that this city blossoms, and this city does whatever we need to do. Any time I get to represent the Houston Rockets, Gerald Green is going to give 150 percent, that’s for damn sure.

In two previous seasons with his local team from 2017 through 2019, the 6-foot-6 reserve swingman averaged 10.3 points (36.0% on 3-pointers) in 21.1 minutes per game, and he was also a respected veteran voice in the locker room. Among last season’s rotation players, only Ben McLemore (40.0%) and Danuel House Jr. (36.3%) shot better from 3-point range. That shooting capability and Green’s leadership qualities could make him a valued bench contributor for new Rockets head coach Stephen Silas.

Even so, considering the non-guaranteed nature of his contract, it’s clearly not a given that Green makes the final roster. But it’s a safe bet that Houston fans — and likely his teammates — are hoping he does.

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