Cavaliers sign Danny Green with eye on postseason impact
CLEVELAND (AP) >> Danny Green was best known for his sideline dance routines during his first stint with the Cavaliers.
He has picked up some new moves since then.
Green rejoined Cleveland’s roster Wednesday after agreeing to a one-year, $2 million contract with the Cavaliers, who believe the three-time NBA champion can help them in the postseason.
Green, who was drafted by Cleveland in 2009 and waived after one season, gives the team another proven outside shooter. More importantly, he’s a selfless teammate expected to blend in nicely with a young team looking to make its mark in the playoffs.
“Someone who is about the team and who just wants to fit in,” coach J.B. Bickerstaff said.
Green is expected to be in Philadelphia on Wednesday night for the final game before the All-Star break.
After tearing a knee ligament during last year’s playoffs while with the 76ers, the 35-year-old Green played in just three games for Memphis this season before being traded last week to Houston. The Rockets bought out his contract, making him a free agent, and the Cavaliers lured him away over several other interested contenders.
The Cavs envision Green having an on-floor impact during the postseason, where he has shined before. Green has appeared in 165 playoff games and can help Cleveland’s young players navigate what will be a new experience for many of them.
Bickerstaff already has spoken with Green about playing time. The Cavaliers, who entered the day fourth in the Eastern Conference standings, have won seven straight going into their game at Philadelphia and finally are healthy.
Bickerstaff doesn’t want to mess up what Cleveland has going while planning ahead.
“We have to figure the balance between continuing with the group that has started to head that way and then how you mix in a piece that could possibly help you down the road,” he said. “But we will be very ginger with that because we do not want to disrupt the rhythm of what these guys are finding right now.”
Green has a reputation for being a big-game, bigshot maker.
With San Antonio in 2013, he set an NBA Finals record by making 23 3-pointers, a mark that didn’t set well with Cavaliers All-Star Donovan Mitchell, who was a teenage hope fan back then.
“I remember watching him against the Heat breaking Ray Allen’s 3-point record,” Mitchell cracked. “I hated him at the time.”
All has been forgiven, and Mitchell, who has known Green since Mitchell was 11, is excited about adding a player with a championship pedigree.
“Veteran presence around the locker room, calming presence, great personality,” Mitchell said. “But when he gets in, a sniper, especially in big-time situations. He’s done it year in and year out.”
Green has averaged 8.7 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 822 career games. He has made 39.9% of his 3-pointers.
He played collegiately at North Carolina. After playing 23 games for Cleveland, Green spent eight seasons with San Antonio, winning a title with the Spurs in 2014. He won championships with Toronto and the Los Angeles Lakers, and is one of four players in league history to win titles with three franchises.