Tag: Danny Green

Sixers guard Danny Green says he will push Ben Simmons to shoot more

New Philadelphia 76ers guard Danny Green plans on challenging Ben Simmons to shoot the ball more.

Philadelphia 76ers guard Ben Simmons is one of the best players in this game. He is one of the elite defenders in the league, he’s a threat for a triple-double on a nightly basis, and he is a guy that opposing teams have to worry about on a nightly basis.

However, there is one thing that continues to hold him back and that is his lack of a jump shot. He continues to be reluctant when it comes to shooting the ball and it’s a little confusing considering all of the jumper videos everybody has seen.

New addition Danny Green, who is a career 40% shooter from deep and a 3-time NBA champion, wants to take it upon himself to push Simmons to shoot the ball more. He said this on his own podcast, Inside the Green Room:

You can’t be afraid to take those jumpers and keep a defense honest. Mind you, you shoot it pretty well. We see it in practice, we see you shooting online, we see highlights and clips. You’re not a bad shooter, it’s all confidence and mental.

So I’m gonna try to take it upon myself to challenge him to put himself in some uncomfortable situations or positions to make himself more comfortable doing those things, and that may be taking at least one corner 3 a game just to keep the defense honest.

Simmons has been working with assistant coach Sam Cassell in order to become a better shooter, but it would be a huge help if a guy like Green could help him out with this considering all of the success he has had in the league. [lawrence-related id=40035,40024,40013]

Doc Rivers explains how he will fit Danny Green with Sixers in short time

Philadelphia 76ers coach Doc Rivers explains how he plans on fitting Danny Green into the team.

There is not much time to prepare for the 2020-21 NBA season as everything is being rushed in order to get the season in before the Tokyo Olympics. For the Philadelphia 76ers, this means trying to incorporate a lot of new pieces around their star duo in a short amount of time.

It makes it even tougher when one of the new major pieces could not even join the team until a little over a week into training camp.

Danny Green, Terrance Ferguson, and Vincent Poirier was acquired from the Oklahoma City Thunder back on Nov. 18, but the deal could not be completed until Tuesday due to his contract not being aggregated. The Thunder acquired him from the Los Angeles Lakers a few days before and it held up the trade process with Philadelphia.

For new coach Doc Rivers, that made it even tougher to integrate Green into his new team. The good thing about Green is that being an 11-year veteran, it is easy for him to get adjusted. The other two players will have a tough time in the beginning.

“Yeah, it’s tough,” said Rivers. “I will say this though, with Danny, it’s not as tough for him. With the other two I think it’s very difficult but Danny, Danny probably can show up on the first game, and figure out how to play because he’s been doing it for so long. The other two, I think it’d be very difficult for them.”

Due to the fact that he has had experience playing for a long time in this league and he has played next to stars before, Rivers has an exact plan on how to have him fit in with the team.

“I know exactly how we want to utilize Danny, the other two will be more positional players, effort players,” Rivers explained. “With Danny off the bat I’m going to put him in a veteran role. He knows how to play off of talent and he’s done a great job of that. He’s been fortunate in his career when you think about it with all the great players that he’s been able to play next to. That’s an art, it is, it’s an art form when you learn how to still play well off of great players and Danny has done a great job of that. That’s why we wanted him.”

Green has won three titles in the league with three different teams. He played a key role in the 2014 title run with the San Antonio Spurs playing next to Kawhi Leonard, Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili. He then helped Leonard win a title in 2019 with the Toronto Raptors before winning the 2020 title next to LeBron James and Anthony Davis with the Lakers.

He is a career 40% shooter from deep and he should be able to fit nicely next to Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid. [lawrence-related id=39991,39988,39983]

Daryl Morey officially welcomes Danny Green, Terrance Ferguson to Sixers

Philadelphia 76ers president Daryl Morey welcomes Danny Green and Terrance Ferguson in tweets.

The Philadelphia 76ers made a trade on draft night back on Nov. 18 to send Al Horford to the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for Danny Green and Terrance Ferguson. The trade had just now become official on Tuesday with 15 days to go until opening night.

The deal took a while to become official due to Green’s contract not being able to be aggregated. The Thunder acquired him from the Los Angeles Lakers in a trade before sending him to Philadelphia so there was a lot of waiting for things to be complete.

With the trade now official, president Daryl Morey can do his customary welcome tweet to Green as he has been doing with all of the new additions.

Along with Green, Morey gave a welcome to Ferguson as well. He included some highlights of his play in the tweet as well.

Along with Green and Ferguson, the Sixers are also acquiring Vincent Poirier in the deal. Oklahoma City acquired him from the Boston Celtics in another draft night deal.

Now that Green, Ferguson, and Poirier are officially on the team, the challenge now is to get them up to speed on things before the season tips off on Dec. 23 against the Washington Wizards. [lawrence-related id=39969,39966,39962]

Report: Thunder’s Al Horford trade won’t be complete until Dec. 8

There’s an important face missing from Thunder training camp so far: Al Horford, who OKC got in a trade with the Philadelphia 76ers.

There’s been a piece of the Oklahoma City Thunder that has been missing since the start of training camp.

The Thunder reportedly acquired Al Horford, a 2025 first-round pick and Vasilije Micic from the Philadelphia 76ers in November in exchange for Danny Green and Terrance Ferguson. We say reportedly because that deal is still not finalized.

That trade won’t become official until Tuesday, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Oklahoma City is aggregating salary to help the trade go through, according to the Inquirer’s Keith Pompey. This delay has arisen because the trade with the Los Angeles Lakers that netted the Thunder Green was not official until Nov. 19.

Until Tuesday, the Thunder will be without Horford. He will miss the individual workouts that take place through Saturday but be allowed to join the team for the group portion once the trade has been finalized, assuming he passes coronavirus protocols.

At that point, Oklahoma City will have its center who replaces Steven Adams this season. The Thunder’s first preseason game is scheduled to take place Dec. 12 against the San Antonio Spurs.

Horford is a versatile center who has some skill passing and shooting, but his fit next to Joel Embiid on the Sixers collapsed the spacing and forced Philadelphia to trade him just one season into his four-year, $109 million contract.

Oklahoma City is banking on Horford either being a reliable starter or regaining enough trade value that they can move him at some point over the next three years.

This season, Horford is owed $27.5 million. The salary decreases by $500,000 each year.

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Matisse Thybulle, Furkan Korkmaz ready for Sixers training camp battles

Philadelphia 76ers wings Matisse Thybulle and Furkan Korkmaz are ready for the battles in training camp.

The Philadelphia 76ers made a couple of big additions to their roster at the wing spot as they look to move on from the disappointing 2019-20 season. The team added more shooters to help space the floor for Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid.

Additions Seth Curry and Danny Green as well as rookies Tyrese Maxey and Isaiah Joe play similar positions to holdovers Matisse Thybulle and Furkan Korkmaz. This means there will be competition in camp to see who is in coach Doc Rivers’ rotation when the season begins on Dec. 22.

With Green unable to join the team until Dec. 8 when his trade acquisition from the Oklahoma City Thunder will be complete, Thybulle and Korkmaz can make a statement early. Maybe Thybulle could earn himself a starting spot to begin the season.

“I don’t really think in those terms if I’m being honest,” Thybulle explained. “I came into this last season just wanting to be a part of the team and a part of our success in whatever way that took form. I was lucky enough to start a couple of games, which is not something I really planned for, and I think coming into this next season is the same thing.”

A guy such as Thybulle should have the advantage due to his one season with the team, but this is a new team. A new roster with a new coach means he will have to fight in camp to prove himself again.

“Even though it’s a clean slate for most people and sure I might have a little bit of an advantage because I was here last year, it’s a new coach,” he added. “I feel like I have to prove myself again. We’ll just see what happens.”

As for Korkmaz, this is nothing new. Heading into the 2019-20 season, his NBA future was called into question, and there were concerns whether he would stick. He had to fight in camp for that time, and he understands it will be the same this upcoming season despite his breakout season.

“For me, the challenge is the same every year,” he explained. “Just the names are different. They’re my teammates, but competition is the same for me. I just need to go out there to play my best game to get the jersey and keep the minutes.”

Korkmaz’s advantage over players such as Maxey and Joe is he has been in the league, and he understands what is expected of him despite a new coaching staff. He also has the confidence of Rivers heading into the preseason.

“I’m not going into this season as a young player anymore,” Korkmaz added. “I know the league, I’ve been in the league long enough to understand the game. This will be my fourth year in the league. I’m ready to fight. I’m ready to show everybody what I have. Nobody is going to get an opportunity; I have to fight.”

Getting off to a fast start in training camp and in the preseason will be on the mind of a lot of players, especially Thybulle as he continues to prove himself in the league.

“I definitely think it’s important to get off to a good start,” he said. “In general, that was my approach and last year and even though I have a year under my belt, I still feel like I’m in a similar position of having to come in and prove myself and not having a body of work to just lean on to be like a co-sign of what I’m capable of. It’s going to be important for me to come out strong and prove myself in training camp and these preseason games is going to be huge.”

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Matisse Thybulle, Furkan Korkmaz ready for Sixers training camp battles

Philadelphia 76ers wings Matisse Thybulle and Furkan Korkmaz are ready for the battles in training camp.

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The Philadelphia 76ers made a couple of big additions to their roster at the wing spot as they look to move on from the disappointing 2019-20 season. The team added more shooters to help space the floor for Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid.

Additions Seth Curry and Danny Green as well as rookies Tyrese Maxey and Isaiah Joe play similar positions to holdovers Matisse Thybulle and Furkan Korkmaz. This means there will be competition in camp to see who is in coach Doc Rivers’ rotation when the season begins on Dec. 22.

With Green unable to join the team until Dec. 8 when his trade acquisition from the Oklahoma City Thunder will be complete, Thybulle and Korkmaz can make a statement early. Maybe Thybulle could earn himself a starting spot to begin the season.

“I don’t really think in those terms if I’m being honest,” Thybulle explained. “I came into this last season just wanting to be a part of the team and a part of our success in whatever way that took form. I was lucky enough to start a couple of games, which is not something I really planned for, and I think coming into this next season is the same thing.”

A guy such as Thybulle should have the advantage due to his one season with the team, but this is a new team. A new roster with a new coach means he will have to fight in camp to prove himself again.

“Even though it’s a clean slate for most people and sure I might have a little bit of an advantage because I was here last year, it’s a new coach,” he added. “I feel like I have to prove myself again. We’ll just see what happens.”

As for Korkmaz, this is nothing new. Heading into the 2019-20 season, his NBA future was called into question, and there were concerns whether he would stick. He had to fight in camp for that time, and he understands it will be the same this upcoming season despite his breakout season.

“For me, the challenge is the same every year,” he explained. “Just the names are different. They’re my teammates, but competition is the same for me. I just need to go out there to play my best game to get the jersey and keep the minutes.”

Korkmaz’s advantage over players such as Maxey and Joe is he has been in the league, and he understands what is expected of him despite a new coaching staff. He also has the confidence of Rivers heading into the preseason.

“I’m not going into this season as a young player anymore,” Korkmaz added. “I know the league, I’ve been in the league long enough to understand the game. This will be my fourth year in the league. I’m ready to fight. I’m ready to show everybody what I have. Nobody is going to get an opportunity; I have to fight.”

Getting off to a fast start in training camp and in the preseason will be on the mind of a lot of players, especially Thybulle as he continues to prove himself in the league.

“I definitely think it’s important to get off to a good start,” he said. “In general, that was my approach and last year and even though I have a year under my belt, I still feel like I’m in a similar position of having to come in and prove myself and not having a body of work to just lean on to be like a co-sign of what I’m capable of. It’s going to be important for me to come out strong and prove myself in training camp and these preseason games is going to be huge.”

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Bell Ringer Podcast: how will new additions help Sixers going forward?

The Bell Ringer Podcast returns to discuss what the new additions will do to help the Philadelphia 76ers moving forward.

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The Bell Ringer Podcast returns to discuss what could be a very interesting Philadelphia 76ers team in the 2020-21 season. Host Ky Carlin welcomes Austin Krell of The Painted Lines to give thoughts on the Dwight Howard acquisition as well as moving Zhaire Smith to the Detroit Pistons for big man Tony Bradley.

The Sixers have been in need of shooting and that is what Seth Curry and Danny Green will bring to the lineup. They will discuss that as well as the fact that team has finally found a suitable backup to Joel Embiid. The team has struggled to do that in recent seasons and Howard can be the guy who can solidify that role. He brings a wealth of experience to the job having been in the league for 16 seasons and he is coming off a season where he won a title with the Los Angeles Lakers. The two also discuss where Smith could go after the trade and the potential that he still has in this league.

Another topic discussed is who the top five teams in the East will be in the 2020-21 season.

As always leave your thoughts with us on Twitter and we thank you for listening. We are now on Apple Podcasts and Spotify as well so make sure you check out past episodes! We will continue to add new episodes whenever we can and when basketball does eventually return, we will ramp up our efforts to bring you basketball content.

New Sixers guard Danny Green excited to play with Dwight Howard again

New Philadelphia 76ers guard Danny Green welcomes Dwight Howard to the team.

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The Philadelphia 76ers have made a lot of big moves in recent weeks after bringing in Daryl Morey to be their new President of Basketball Operations. They have filled a couple of their needs with a few moves that have the team excited about the future.

One of those moves was to bring in Danny Green who is one of the premier 3-and-D players in the NBA and a guy who was just a key member of the 2020 champion Los Angeles Lakers. He is a career 40% shooter from deep and he will help the team with spacing.

Another move was the addition of Dwight Howard who will serve as the primary backup to big man Joel Embiid. Howard played with Green in Los Angeles as the two won a title and Green was excited to play with him again.

Our two dudes from sixers

Green and Howard figure to heavily factor into this team’s future plans as the 2020-21 season gets set to begin on Dec. 22. [lawrence-related id=39463,39460,39457]

NBA scouts praise Sixers for making trades for Danny Green, Seth Curry

Two anonymous NBA scouts give their praise to the Philadelphia 76ers for acquiring Danny Green and Seth Curry.

On the night of the draft on November 18, the Philadelphia 76ers made some big trades in order to put themselves in a better position moving forward. The team had an awkward roster in the 2019-20 season and the trades they made helped with the spacing.

The first move was trading big man Al Horford who the team had signed to a 4-year $109 million deal in the offseason. The fit was terrible next to Joel Embiid and it appeared that the team was stuck with him for the next three years before they sent him to the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for Danny Green and Terrance Ferguson.

A couple of anonymous NBA scouts sat with Mo Dakhil of Bleacher Report and they praised the team for making the moves that they did.

The scouts told Dakhil of the Horford trade:

Anonymous scout No. 1 said of the Horford trade: “I thought it was a good first move, and not because they added Danny Green or Ferguson, but because they got rid of Al Horford. That contract was an albatross around their necks for three more years, so I think getting rid of all that money was a good move.”

Anonymous scout No. 2 agreed, saying: “I thought that was an unbelievable deal that he was able to get off that contract. … It’s not really sustainable to have a guy making $27.5 million coming off the bench.”

Scout No. 1 said of Green: “Now, can Danny Green still make a standstill three? Yes. Is he the defender he once was? No, and he can’t dribble. He can still hit a standstill three and has all that playoff experience, so that is a positive.”

Then the Sixers moved Josh Richardson to the Dallas Mavericks to acquire Seth Curry to help fix their shooting issues. He shot 45.2% from deep with Dallas and that should help Ben Simmons and Embiid operate on offense.

The scouts added on that deal:

Scout No. 1 said: “In normal situations, I don’t think they make that trade because Josh Richardson is an excellent basketball player. But they need shooting, and they have to get shooting around those two guys [Embiid and Simmons].

Scout No. 2 echoed those sentiments, saying, “I think on the Philly side you are trading the more talented player for a better fit.”

There is no doubt that the moves make Philadelphia a better basketball team on paper. Now, it is up to coach Doc Rivers and the rest of the team to be able to put it all together and get ready for the season which is set to begin on December 22. [lawrence-related id=39417,39409,39406]

Lakers bolster backcourt, defense with addition of Wesley Matthews

The Los Angeles Lakers have found a replacement for Danny Green with the acquisition of Wesley Matthews in free agency.

The Los Angeles Lakers have already made significant progress in rebuilding their backcourt. After trading Danny Green and seeing almost the entire rest of their guard rotation leave in free agency, adding more backcourt help was a top priority for the Lakers and they’ve already made a move to help in that endeavor. The Lakers have agreed to a deal with free agent guard Wesley Matthews, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic/Stadium.

Matthews was a starting guard for the Milwaukee Bucks for 67 regular-season games and the 10 playoff games the Bucks were in. Matthews shot 39.5% from the 3-point line in the postseason and he’s a career 34.3% shooter in his playoff career.

Whatever role the Lakers have for Matthews, he will be a solid contributor at a very low price. Whether he starts or comes off the bench, the Lakers added toughness, 3-point shooting, and good defense to their backcourt. While it’s still early, the Laker backcourt appears to be on course to be a much stronger unit in 2021.

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