The James Harden saga is finally over..for now. After the third successful trade request of his rollercoaster career, Harden was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers for a wealth of assets including a veteran’s salary and lucrative recruiting capital.
The players sent to the Philadelphia 76ers are Marcus Morris Sr., Robert Covington, Nicolas Batum and Kenyon Martin Jr. In return, the Clippers received Harden, P.J. Tucker and Filip Petrusev.
Los Angeles was honest with itself that their roster wasn’t enough to win a championship, so they were an organization that invested heavily in pursuing Harden despite his dissatisfaction in Philadelphia.
Since the Clippers gave up four players, the 76ers needed to open a roster spot to complete the trade.
So the front office decided to waive recently acquired Danny Green, still a reliable 3-and-D winger who could play a small role for a championship-contending team.
The Los Angeles Lakers are a team with an open roster spot that could use Green.
Green earned a spot with the Lakers in 2020, but he was traded before the start of the following season.
If he returns to Los Angeles, it will be Green’s second outing with the purple and gold, who is known to have great chemistry with LeBron James.
The Lakers are 3-2 at the start of this season.
season, an impressive mark as they had to deal with many injuries in the squad.
Jarred Vanderbilt was once a candidate for the starting job in Los Angeles, but he did not play this year due to an oblique injury.
Rui Hachimura, Gabe Vincent, Taurean Prince and Jalen Hood-Schifino also missed the Lakers’ thrilling win over the Clippers on Wednesday.
Head coach Darvin Ham limited his rotation to eight guys, and there was a stretch when he played three bigs together.
The Lakers pulled out an overtime victory over the Clippers, but the formula they are relying on will not be sustainable for the long run.
Danny Green’s addition would help their cause because he is a catch-and-shoot wing who can play off advantages created James, Austin Reaves and Anthony Davis.Green’s individual defense is not as stellar as it was a few years ago, but he is not a subpar defender who will be attacked mercilessly on that side of the floor.
The Lakers do have a multitude of guys who flourish with the ball in their hands, so they do not need another spitfire guard or microwave scorer to fill-up the final roster spot.As the 15th man in the lineup, there is a realistic possibility that Danny Green would be on the bench for most of the 82-game grind, but he does not have the ego that other youngsters may have.
He could play a role similar to those occupied by Udonis Haslem or Andre Iguodala last season, respected veterans who galvanized their squad when the going got tough and provided valuable spot minutes in a pinch.
Green will likely only see brief stints in the playoffs, but he could earn more playing time during the regular season as injuries inevitably plague Los Angeles once again.
Furthermore, Ham wants to lighten the load on guys like James and Davis, so giving Green 10-15 minutes a night is more than enough.
The Lakers fanbase absolutely loved and embraced Danny Green during his first stint in LaLa land, so this opportunity could be a remarkable final chapter in his stellar NBA career.
