Tag: Jeff Green

On this day: Ex-Celtic champion forward James Posey signs; Jeff Green born

On this day in 2007, former Boston Celtics forward James Posey signed with the team, and in 1986, ex-Celtic Jeff Green was born.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, forward James Posey signed with the Boston Celtics as a free agent in 2007, adding some heft on the wing to what was already clearly a title contender after the team had added Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett in blockbuster trades earlier that summer.

Posey played his college ball with the Xavier Musketeers and was drafted 18th overall in the first round of the 1999 NBA draft by the Denver Nuggets. The 6-foot-8 swingman had also played stints with the Houston Rockets, Memphis Grizzlies, and Miami Heat before joining the Celtics on this day all those years ago.

The Cleveland, Ohio native inked a deal worth roughly $6.67 million over two seasons, with the final season a player option.

On this day: Irving, Finkel trades; Edney, Miles sign; Green re-signs; Kottman born

On this day, the Boston Celtics traded for Kyrie Irving and Hank Finkel, re-signed Jeff Green and former center Harold Kottman was born.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, the team traded fan-favorite All-Star point guard Isaiah Thomas to the Cleveland Cavaliers along with forward Jae Crowder, big man Ante Zizic, and draft assets for All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving in 2017.

“Kyrie is one of the best scorers in the NBA. He has proven that on the biggest stage, the NBA Finals, the last three years,” said Celtics President Danny Ainge in a press release at the time.

“He’s been an NBA champion, an Olympic gold medalist, and (at that time) a four-time All-Star,” added Ainge. “For all he’s accomplished, we think his best years are ahead of him.”

Thomas’ hip injury would cause him to fail his physical, requiring the addition of more draft assets to complete the trade later in the week. We all know how Irving’s tenure went in Boston, but at the time, the deal made sense, as painful as it was to part ways with Thomas.

Updated 2023-2024 Houston Rockets roster, salaries after free agency

After an extremely busy 2023 free agency, here’s an updated look at the #Rockets roster and salaries entering the 2023-24 NBA season.

When we last saw the Houston Rockets play a regular-season game in April, they were one of the NBA’s youngest teams and directed by a relatively unproven head coach in Stephen Silas.

The situation has changed significantly in the months since. Ime Udoka replaced Silas as head coach and brought in his own staff of assistants, while general manager Rafael Stone spent more than $60 million in 2023 free agency to sign veteran players Fred VanVleet, Dillon Brooks, Jeff Green and Jock Landale.

Those veterans will surround Houston’s young core of Jalen Green, Alperen Sengun, Kevin Porter Jr., Jabari Smith Jr., Tari Eason and newly drafted 2023 rookies Amen Thompson and Cam Whitmore.

As of early August, here’s an updated look at where things stand with the Rockets’ coaching staff and roster of players entering the 2023-24 NBA season. Many of the team’s newcomers will not have their jersey numbers revealed until closer to training camp, which is scheduled to start in early October.

Height and weight information is from NBA.com, while salary details are from HoopsHype figures. Ages are as of Aug. 1, 2023.

Rockets officially announce deals with Fred VanVleet, Dillon Brooks, Jock Landale, Jeff Green

Fred VanVleet, Dillon Brooks, Jock Landale, and Jeff Green are all officially Rockets. Here’s how the team announced each of its July 2023 transactions to date.

As part of a complex web of transactions, the Houston Rockets officially announced the additions of four players as part of their activities in the opening two days of the NBA’s 2023 free agency.

The Rockets had a league-leading figure of approximately $60 million in financial room beneath the salary cap heading into free agency. However, they created even more room with a series of controversial trades sending out salaries and future second-round draft assets, which may have been made with the signing Milwaukee big man Brook Lopez (who ultimately rejected the Rockets) in mind.

As it turned out, general manager Rafael Stone and the Rockets ended up adding big men Jock Landale and Jeff Green on top of the marquee deals with Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks.

None of the deals could be announced until Thursday, which is when the league’s temporary moratorium on transactions for its 2023-24 league year was lifted. Shortly after the moratorium ended, the league began processing signings and trades from all teams, and ultimately the Rockets had their deals approved, as expected.

Scroll on for each official announcement, from the team.

Rockets gain tradable salary for future with uniquely structured Jock Landale, Jeff Green contracts

With no guaranteed money owed after next season, the uniquely structured multi-year contracts given to Jock Landale and Jeff Green could help the #Rockets in future trades.

The Houston Rockets didn’t accomplish all of their goals entering 2023 free agency. They did land two of their three marquee veteran targets in Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks, but the third — Milwaukee big man Brook Lopez — clearly slipped away late.

When that happened, the Rockets and general manager Rafael Stone could have still used that salary slot by simply turning to another established veteran at center. But instead, with Houston still in something of a rebuilding phase, the team appears to have pivoted to a backup plan involving contract optionality.

Sure, Jock Landale showed flashes with the Phoenix Suns last season, and Jeff Green was a rotation player for a Denver squad that just won the 2023 NBA championship. Depending on the matchup, they could mix and match those two in minutes fairly similar to what Lopez would have received as a complement to Alperen Sengun.

But judging by their contracts, their largest value could be as salary matching tools in the future. Landale technically signed for four seasons and Green for two, but neither is owed any guaranteed money after the first season. That means Houston could trade them leading up to the 2024 trade deadline next February or early in the 2024 offseason, and the team acquiring them would be on the hook for minimal-to-no salary —  should they simply prefer cap space.

Unlike a normal trade exception, which can’t be aggregated with players to help the team bring in a larger salary, Landale and/or Green (who will each make close to $8 million, annually) could be combined in future trades with a player on a short-term contract — such as Kevin Porter Jr. or Jae’Sean Tate. That could allow the Rockets to meet the league’s salary matching rules for trades involving teams who are above the annual salary cap.

Even so, it’s obviously speculative. For the 2023-24 season, the Rockets clearly preferred to add Lopez and improve their short-term roster. That plan failed. But in the long run, the path they chose to pivot to as a backup plan could present more options down the line.

Here’s a look at some of the key takeaways and implications.

Rockets sign NBA veteran Jeff Green to one-year, $6-million contract

With a need for veteran leadership and frontcourt help, the #Rockets are signing NBA champion Jeff Green to a one-year, $6-million contract. @MikeAScotto was first with the news.

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With a need for veterans across the board and especially in the frontcourt after missing on Brook Lopez, the Houston Rockets signed veteran forward Jeff Green to a one-year, $6-million deal on Saturday night. It was first reported by HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto.

Green, 36, played last season as a backup for the NBA champion Denver Nuggets. The 6-foot-8 forward/center averaged 7.8 points (48.8% FG), 2.6 rebounds and 19.5 minutes. He was particularly well regarded for his leadership and locker-room presence.

Green played for the Rockets during the 2019-20 season under Mike D’Antoni. Functioning largely as a small-ball center after the Clint Capela trade, Green averaged 12.2 points (56.4% FG, 35.4% on 3-pointers), 2.9 rebounds and 22.6 minutes per game.

Green joins newly signed center Jock Landale as Houston’s backup options behind third-year incumbent starter Alperen Sengun. Green may also figure into the power forward mix behind Jabari Smith Jr., a highly drafted second-year prospect.

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On this day: Allen traded for; Sullinger, Green, Gomes drafted

On this day, the trade that brought Ray Allen to Boston went down, and Jeff and Gerald Green, Jared Sullinger and Ryan Gomes were drafted.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, team president Danny Ainge and the rest of the front office traded for star shooting guard Ray Allen. Sending out a package of point guard Delonte West, small forward Wally Szczerbiak, and forward Jeff Green to the then-Seattle Supersonics in exchange for Allen and center Glen “Big Baby” Davis.

“You’re always listening when you come into a situation like this. You don’t wake up one day and look to move a player like a Ray Allen,” said then-Sonics’ general manager Sam Presti via ESPN. “Someone has to come get them and Boston did that here.”

The move of course would facilitate the trade of Kevin Garnett to the Celtics soon after, Ainge and Boston having assembled the requisite talent to convince the Big Ticket that such a deal would bear fruit in the banners department, which of course it did.

Redraft of 2007 class sees five Boston Celtics alums on the move

A member of today’s Boston roster is among them.

As Hoops Hype’s Frank Urbina and Raul Barrigon keep busy reassessing the draft orders of the last several decades over the last few years, there are always a number of Boston Celtics alumni on the move in their re-drafts as a result.

In the H/H duo’s reassessment of the NBA’s 2007 draft class, a total of five Boston alumni ended up seeing their draft stock shift considerably with the benefit of hindsight lifting their fortunes. And while they won’t see any pay raises or anything else of that sort given the fictitious nature of such an exercise, it’s also nice to see this duo get their flowers, too.

Let’s take a look at which Celtics alumni landed where.

Former Celtic Jeff Green on how Kevin Garnett helped him find his voice as a player

“He used to tell me all the time, ‘You have got to speak up,'” Green said.

Hall of Fame Boston Celtics big man Kevin Garnett has the sort of personality that can leave indelible marks on the people he played with in the NBA in the same sort of way he leaves similarly indelible marks of a less desirable sort on those he’s played against. The former is the case with fellow former Celtic Jeff Green — now with the Denver Nuggets — who recently recounted how KG helped him come out of his shell as a player.

“When I was with Boston,” suggested Green via Clutch Points. “I didn’t talk much. I was very quiet. But now, I can’t stop talking, so I guess to a small extent, I’m like (Garnett). I think being vocal is big.”

“He used to tell me all the time, ‘You have to speak up,'” Green added. “You have to talk. You have to talk!'”

The Big Ticket certainly is no stranger to using his voice on and off of the basketball court, though it has also been a source of controversy when he’s trash-talking opponents in-game.

With his playing days firmly behind him, KG has morphed into a mentor for younger players while mending some of the fences he crashed through with his words during his playing days.

Though even now, the man is anything but meek.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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On this day: Walker, Perkins, Erden, Harangody trades; Becker born

On this day in Celtics history, Boston dealt away Antoine Walker, Kendrick Perkins, Semih Erden, and Luke Harangody, and Moe Becker was born.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, forward Antoine Devon Walker began playing for the team that drafted him in what would be his second stint with Boston after being dealt back to the Celtics by the Atlanta Hawks.

Walker had been selected by the storied franchise out of the University of Kentucky with the sixth overall pick of the 1996 NBA draft. Now, he was reunited with his former college head coach Rick Pitino after his rookie season (in which he made All-Rookie First Team) with the Celtics as Pitino was hired as the team’s head coach and president.

Walker would link up with future Boston champion Paul Pierce after he was also drafted by the Celtics in 1998 to make a few deep runs in the postseason in his first stint with the team.