Bringing back Danny Green would be a sound move by Cavs this summer

Danny Green did not play much with the Cleveland Cavaliers in the closing stretch of the regular season leading into the playoffs. Green was picked up by Cleveland after the now-past NBA Trade Deadline in February, and it appeared as if he could be a quality add for the Cavaliers rotation at the time.

Green only played in eight regular season games with Cleveland, though, and Green was only active in three games with the Memphis Grizzlies this season prior to him being traded by them to the Houston Rockets, who he came to a buyout agreement with shortly thereafter.

Granted, the Green signing for the Cavaliers was one that was going to take some time to bear fruit, but only playing in 11 total games in the regular season didn’t allow him to establish much of a rhythm. The lack of playing time with Cleveland had to do with Green gradually working up to speed and getting acclimated to a new situation.

Green of course tore his ACL in last year’s playoffs when he was with the Philadelphia 76ers, and for a player that’s 35, one had to temper expectations.

Despite Green not necessarily being able to make an impact with Cleveland this season, he should be far healthier at the outset of next season, and the team should strongly consider bringing him back.

Re-signing Green would be a sound move by the Cavs this summer.

Green didn’t do much with the Cavaliers this season, as we mentioned. On the plus side, while the circumstances weren’t high-leverage, there were a few encouraging performances for him in the last couple of regular season games with 21 and then 13 points versus the Orlando Magic and then Charlotte Hornets. That production came in 26 and then 25 minutes of playing time.

Excluding those games, Green had 3.0 points in 7.4 minutes per contest in his other six appearances in the regular season with Cleveland, in which he went five-of-10 from three (50.0 percent). It was a meniscule sample size, obviously.

Green did have some playing time in the Cavaliers’ short-lived playoff run, with 32 minutes combined in Game 2 and Game 3, but then just four minutes apiece in Game 4 and Game 5. The opportunities were limited, as he had only three points on five total shot attempts in the devastating series loss to the New York Knicks.

With all of that being said, if the Cavaliers were to bring back Green this summer, he could be a very meaningful rotational piece to have for next season, given he’ll be much further along in his recovery back from the anniversary of his ACL tear in the 2022 playoffs.

Green is not the defensive player he was five years ago on-ball, but he’s still such a knowledgeable player on both ends of the floor, and for stretches, he’s still a more than capable shooter to have. That could help Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland and Evan Mobley, among others.

Additionally, his wealth of playoff experience and him being a three-time NBA champion never will hurt from a locker room perspective. In the playoffs, he has shot 38.8 percent from three-point land as well.

The Cavs should be and are seemingly looking to further address the wing situation via the trade market and/or from bringing in another wing, but feasibly via veteran’s minimum at this point in his career, re-signing Green would be a wise move.

He should be ready to contribute at the outset of next season, and if he can establish a rhythm and have some role consistency, he can still make a difference in the playoffs, even then next year in his age-36 campaign. If the opportunity presented itself, this next 2023-24 season could actually be a legit second tour for Green with the Cavaliers, who originally drafted him in 2009.