NBA Rumors: Ex-Celtics Wing Joins Western Conference Team

The NBA offseason has reached its slow-moving stage with Las Vegas Summer League action in the rearview mirror, but that doesn’t mean teams aren’t fielding phone calls, which on Tuesday, allowed a former Boston Celtics wing to find a new home.

Javonte Green signed a one-year deal with the New Orleans Pelicans, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic. The 31-year-old, who debuted in the NBA in 2019 after going undrafted out of Radford by accepting an invite to Boston’s Summer League team, spent last season with the Chicago Bulls but was limited to nine games — Green suffered arthroscopic debridement in his right knee in January 2023.

The 6-foot-5 veteran spent three and a half campaigns in Chicago, averaging 6.4 points, 3.7 rebounds and 0.8 assists while shooting 54.9% from the field and 36.3% from 3-point range. Green became a member of the Bulls after being included in a three-team trade with the Celtics and Washington Wizards two years ago in 2021.

In search of a bounce-back, Green flees Chicago’s crumbling playoff hopes to join a New Orleans franchise that earned a No. 7 seed finish (49-33) in the Western Conference suffering a first-round exit at the hands of the Oklahoma City Thunder. Green spent most of his five-year career as an NBA journeyman after playing professionally in Spain, Italy and Germany.

Most recently, Green averaged 12.2 points with 7.4 rebounds during an injury-hampered 2023-24 (nine games and five starts), now opening the opportunity to carve out a reserve unit role with a potential playoff-contending Pelicans team in 2024-25.