2018-19 NBA Season Review
Danny Green is coming off a 2018-19 NBA season with the Toronto Raptors in which he was a key piece to another NBA championship. Last season marked Green’s second championship in his successful 10-year career and his first since the 2013-14 season with the San Antonio Spurs. He and Kawhi Leonard have teamed up to take down two potential dynasties (Miami Heat and Golden State Warriors), only to wind up playing for different teams in the same city.
Green is perhaps one of the league’s best 3-and-D role players. Last season, he proved this by hitting a career-high 45.5% from the three-point line while nearly averaging a steal per game. Green was one of the players most affected by Leonard’s free agency decision. Due to Leonard keeping the Los Angeles Lakers around in his top-three destinations, Green was unable to make a quick free-agent decision.
Green’s first choice were the Lakers but needed to see where Leonard would go first. If Leonard chose the Lakers, they would have been unable to sign Green, meaning he likely would have taken a three-year deal from the Dallas Mavericks. Leonard wound up on the Los Angeles Clippers, so Green shortly signed a two-year, $30 million deal.
2019-20 NBA Season Outlook
There are two reasons Green was willing to hold out in order to sign with the Lakers: LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Green has said on numerous occasions that he wanted a chance to play with two All-Star players above all else.
It makes sense for a player like Green to want two All-Star teammates like Davis and James. There are plenty of duos in the league as currently constructed, but there is not one nearly as unselfish and willing to pass as the two wearing the purple and gold. The 32-year-old stands to get a number of wide-open three-point shots spoonfed to him just based on the sheer gravity that Davis and James have.
If Green can somehow match his percentages from last season, it is likely he will be the most important role player on this season’s roster — especially if he can be a reliable full-time defender on opposing wings with the Lakers.
Green was perhaps the best signing of the summer and he will have no problem showing Lakers fans why when he can make open three-pointers and get back on defense without issue — something the Lakers have not had too much of.