Ken Berger of CBS Sports reports that after four strong seasons with the San Antonio Spurs, shooting guard Danny Green is being pursued by the Dallas Mavericks, Detroit Pistons, and Portland Trail Blazers meaning he is possibly up for a very big raise this offseason. Green will be an unrestricted free agent this summer. About a week ago we mentioned that Dallas is also reportedly targeting Green, and it seems that those reports were accurate based on the current news swirling around.
The Pistons have been vocal about their needs for a small forward and the Trail Blazers might need a replacement for Wesley Matthews, who is looking for a multi-year deal worth $15 million annually. Green could easily demand around $10 to $14 million annually as an unrestricted free agent mainly because he is a prime example of a three-and-defense player in today’s NBA. He’s a disciplined and tenacious defender capable of guarding any position along the perimeter. Green also considers himself to be a upper echelon 3-point shooter, connecting on 42.3 percent of his treys over the past four seasons. He currently holds the NBA Finals record for three-pointers set in 2013, which by no means is an easy feat to accomplish.
Berger also mentioned that the Spurs would love to retain Green which is apparently a priority, but finding the cap room for him will be difficult, saying:
If there’s a fear among Spurs executives, it’s that they won’t have enough room left to retain Danny Green, who has attracted interest from the Mavs, Blazers and Pistons, sources said.
This is because the Spurs are hoping to sign both Kawhi Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge to maximum contracts, which will consume almost all of their available cap space.
The one thing that is clear about this Free Agency period is that there will be many players that will not come cheap. Danny Green is an ideal example. He made just over $4 million in the final year of his contract with the Spurs, and he’s almost certainly going to be shooting for his first major payday.
