It turns out the Washington Wizards are just like a lot of NBA teams, the Boston Celtics included. They like Jeff Green. They just don’t think he’s worth more than $9 million per season.
The Wizards aren’t interested in Green “at his numbers,” Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald reported Friday. If Green were to pick up his player option for the 2015-16 season, he would be due more than $18 million over the next two seasons. That is considered too rich for a player with Green’s flaws.
Celtics followers were briefly encouraged by a Grantland report this week claiming the Wizards have “long liked” Green and could target him if Trevor Ariza and Marcin Gortat were lost to free agency. It seemed like an odd fit, since the Wizards’ improvement this season was credited in part to team chemistry, while Green has never been known for his intangibles.
Just about every NBA team “likes” Green in some respects. He led the Celtics with 16.9 points per game this season and flashed his share of highlight-reel dunks. But his 13.1 player efficiency rating is below what most teams would expect from a player at his price point, and his 109 defensive rating was among the worst on an already bad defensive Celtics team.
