In Vegas: Green Flying High with Mavs
Gerald Green's first basket with the Dallas Mavericks was -- appropriately enough -- a slam dunk. But ask him what he plans on bringing to his new team and there is no mention of elevated antics. He thinks he can still fly high by keeping his feet on the ground.
Green recently signed a one-year contract with the Mavericks after being teamless since March. The 22-year-old played for the Boston Celtics, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Houston Rockets in just three seasons before the Rockets cut him loose. Green knows he has been given more chances than many players get and is determined to give the Mavericks everything he has to offer.
"This is just a great franchise," the Houston-native told HOOPSWORLD at the Las Vegas Summer League. "I'm happy to be part of it. I'm trying to learn everything step by step. Right now I'm like a sponge trying to soak everything in from the veteran guys and the coaches."
Even though Green has yet to step on to the court with most of his teammates, he has already pinpointed a niche for himself in the rotation. He hopes to showcase his long-range skills (he shot 38.5% 3PG with the Timberwolves), which are often overshadowed by his flashy dunks. And when he doesn't have the ball, he wants to make sure his opponents don't either.
"I see myself as being a high energy player with a lot of energy on the floor. I'm just going to try to use my athleticism to help the team out," Green said. "I think that I have the ability to shoot the ball so that's one thing I could always help the team with. We have great shooters in Jason Terry [and] Dirk Nowitzki, so I'm just going to try to come out here and have a defensive mindset … just run the floor through Jason Kidd, and just play as hard as I can."
Green admits that he could have played better in Friday's debut, a 17-point loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. He shot 4-for-11 from the field (12 points) and the Mavericks failed as a whole to produce a dominating offense. Green, who has played on two struggling teams, will not settle for losing again.
"I'm looking at Summer League this year as an opportunity to show these guys on the Dallas Mavericks what kind of player I am," he said, adding, "We were just talking about how we thought we could have played a whole lot better as a team, and individually I felt like I should have played a whole lot better. But like I said, there's practice tomorrow. It was the first game so now it's behind me and now I look forward and hopefully I can play better the next game."
Green will have a chance to redeem himself when the Mavericks take on the Golden State Warriors on Sunday. Winning may not come easy but Green has learned over the years that success in the NBA is not always a slam dunk.
To watch HOOPSWORLD's full exclusive interview with Gerald Green, click here.
About the Author: JESSICA CAMERATO
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Jessica Camerato is a member of the Professional Basketball Writers Association and has covered the NBA for HOOPSWORLD for two years, powering HOOPSWORLD.COM and HOOPSWORLD Magazine.
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