San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
S.A. Sports Nation
Catching up with Danny Green, and our writers weigh in on the NBA Finals.
It didn’t take long for Danny Green to digest the 2017-18 Spurs season.
Maybe a quick recap, but nothing too indepth.
“This year is a little easier for most guys to let it go,” Green said. “Our body, and mentally, guys were going through it. Mentally, for sure it’s easier to let it go. Physically, right now I’m still rehabbing and keeping the body healthy, getting it better back to where it was.”
Green received a PRP (platelet-rich plasma) shot, a procedure designed to promote healing of injuries such as muscle tears, in his left groin.
Green is in Japan to host a series of meet and greets with fans during the NBA Finals. Following his return, the Spurs guard is hosting the Texas version of his summer basketball camps including stops in San Antonio and Corpus Christi.
In this week’s Off Topic, Green discusses health, recent comments about Kawhi Leonard’s desire to remain with the Spurs and Green’s own future with the team.
How do you like hosting summer basketball camps? Do you find yourself reminiscing about the time you were a young participant?
A little bit, especially when I first started out. When I first made it to a place where a lot of kids knew me as an NBA player, kids would come up to me, and they figured I was so cool to meet now. I remembered how I was — I never got a chance to meet (an NBA player). But it did take me back to the camp days.
I know you’re on an elite level, but do you learn any- thing from the camps even if it’s not X’s and O’s?
What the kids see. What their mind is thinking when they watch the game. How much they pay attention. How much some of them are eager to learn. Also, how to coach and break (information) down to kids, and how to manage egos. Even though I don’t have kids of my own yet, learning how to work with kids a lot better; how to communicate with them.
You received that PRP shot. Are you feeling better now?
After the shot, I’m feeling OK. Just getting some rest right now, rehabbing and doing some strength stuff. I didn’t take much time off from the weight room, but I did (take time off ) from the court.
You made headlines after saying Kawhi Leonard told you he wanted to be back with the Spurs. Can you elaborate?
I just put out what I know, and that’s not much. I talk to (Leonard) as much as I can, but I don’t talk to him that much as a whole. He stresses the same thing to me as he stresses to (the media). There is no news. He says he wants to be a Spur and retire there. He said that to you. He’s expressed that. When I talked to him, he says he’s been with us, he’s always on board with us and (wanted) to be a part of what we did, and he’s trying to get right. But things may change.
With the Finals going on right now, is there still a feeling that had the team been healthy and Kawhi was playing, the Spurs would be representing the Western Conference?
We always thought that. But would’ve, could’ve, should’ve, it’s in the past. Obviously, we know what we’re capable of if we had a fully healthy group, we know we could’ve been there last year. Seeing how the playoffs went this year, in the (Golden State Warriors-Houston Rockets series), they did pretty well (against the Warriors). If they were healthy, who knows how that series could’ve gone. But would’ve, could’ve, should’ve are out of my mind.
You have a roughly $10 million player option for next season. Will you decide on that option once you return from Japan or is it already decided?
I’m taking some time. I don’t know what the decision is going to be. It depends on the feedback I get from my agent and what I get back from the organization. I think they are taking some time as well to take a breath because so much has gone with the organization outside of the players with Pop (Gregg Popovich) and the draft stuff is going on. There is a lot to be processed and taken into account on both sides. Not just the player’s side but the organizational side.
Is a long-term deal something you’re hoping to seek with the Spurs?
That’s always an option. Long-term is always the key to being in the NBA as long as you can. The market is not what it was. Last summer, the money wasn’t thrown out there as much as it was. That has to be taken into account for everybody. But I think longevity is the key for must guys especially for guys that are getting older. … But there is a lot of options that come into play and (a long-term deal) has crossed my mind.
If you do decide to forgo the final year on the deal, are you looking to recoup money left on the table in 2015 when you signed a four-year, $40 million contract? Some around the NBA feel you took a bit of a discount to re-sign with the Spurs back then.
It’s just that; you have to play it by year. That time has passed. Obviously, I would love to get it back, but it’s a new day, a new age, a new free agency. The (salary) cap is different. It’s gone up and down. I don’t think they feel like, “We owe him, so we should throw extra money at him.” So, it’s not like that. It’s a situational thing. At the time it was it made sense to do it because we had a great team coming in with LaMarcus (Aldridge) and David West. Everyone was coming back, and I thought we had a chance to win it, so it made sense to make it work. That’s how the numbers had to add up. Of course, I would love to get that back but either way, I didn’t regret the decision. … It’s definitely worth taking a cut to be happy and being in the organization that you feel comfortable with, playing good basketball and winning. … Regardless, I’m still going to attack the process the same way I did before. I want to be in a situation with good basketball, I want to be winning, I want to be happy, I want to be playing, and I want to be competing. I want to be in the league long and be in a good situation where the team is winning, or we’re building in a good direction to where I know we have a shot each year.