Cleveland waived Danny Green a year before he became a key member of the Spurs. Thirteen years later, he’s back.
Green tore his ACL and LCL during the Sixers’ season-ending playoff loss last May. He was traded to Memphis, then played just three games for the Grizzlies before they dealt him to Houston in a three-way trade for Luke Kennard. The tanking Rockets bought out Green.
Now Green returns to the team that drafted him out of North Carolina in 2009. He only played 20 games in his rookie year, LeBron James’ last before leaving for Miami. Cleveland cut him to keep Manny Harris, who played 93 games in the NBA, and to get the final 39 games of Joey Graham’s NBA career.
Green went on to win three NBA titles, one against James in 2014 on the Spurs and one with him in 2020 with the Lakers. He also won with Toronto in 2019, a year where James didn’t make the playoffs.
Cleveland knows what they have in Green this time. He’s a veteran leader, solid defender and career 40 percent shooter from deep. Even though he’s getting older, Green provides an alternative to the team’s shooting-challenged small forward depth – Isaac Okoro, Cedi Osman and Lamar Stevens all shoot worse than 35 percent.
Coming back from an ACL injury isn’t easy, and this could end up being the last stop in Green’s long career. It would be fitting that he finishes up in the same place he started.
