Now unretired and no longer a member of Houston’s coaching staff, Gerald Green isn’t eligible to play with the Rockets in the 2021-22 NBA season due to salary cap circumvention rules and the fact that he was already on the team’s payroll as a player development coach.
However, that doesn’t mean the team can’t use its resources to help the longtime fan favorite potentially earn an NBA opportunity elsewhere.
To that end, Shams Charania of The Athletic reports Friday that Green is joining the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, Houston’s NBA G League affiliate. If he plays well, the 35-year-old could become a candidate for a 10-day contract from some other NBA team, since clubs are giving those out much more frequently this season due to COVID-19 absences.
Reminder: While it's great that #Rockets fans can watch Green on the Vipers (for now), the Rockets CANNOT sign Green to an NBA (or two-way) contract due to having paid him already as a coach. https://t.co/G9VnEMteJP
— David Weiner (@BimaThug) January 7, 2022
Even if Green somehow was an option to the Rockets, he wouldn’t seem to be an ideal fit, anyway, in a season that is primarily about evaluating younger options who could contribute in the years ahead.
Thus, the Rockets are working with the native Houstonian — and a beloved role player and bench sharpshooter from the 2017-18 and 2018-19 teams — to help him find a basketball fit that works.
Should it not happen, Green tells Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston that general manager Rafael Stone has already informed him that his prior coaching job with the Rockets will still be available to return to.
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Gerald Green, who stepped away from his role as a player development coach with the #Rockets with hopes of reviving his career as a player, says he officially signed with the G League this morning and had a message for Rockets leadership: “Patrick & Tilman (Fertitta), without…” pic.twitter.com/3fdormoK9w
— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) January 7, 2022
Gerald Green, who stepped away from his role as a player development coach with the #Rockets with hopes of reviving his career as a player, says he officially signed with the G League this morning & is waiting to see which team picks him up: “It means a lot. It helps with this…” pic.twitter.com/kUS89xntfg
— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) January 7, 2022
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