Josh Green improved but he must continue to do so
Season in review
Josh Green came into the season desperately needing to improve on a disappointing rookie season. He did that, but there is still plenty of room for improvement going forward. Green was drafted to develop into a “3-and-D” wing who could fit incredibly well alongside Luka Doncic. Both his shooting and his defense were purely theoretical in his rookie season. They showed flashes of actualizing in year two.
The most important marker of Green’s improvement is that he was able to play more than twice as many minutes. He played only 445 minutes in his rookie season and improved that to 1039 this season. The biggest change that allowed this to happen is that he improved his three point shooting from 4-of-25 to 28-of-78. That is an improvement from 16 percent to 35.9 percent. He used this extra time to improve his points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks per game averages.
Best game
Because Green had a two game stretch that far exceeded everything else he did and those games were so similar, I’m going to cheat and use both of those games. Over two games against the Houston Rockets and Chicago Bulls, he averaged 17.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game. He shot a ridiculous 14-of-17 from the field including making both of his threes. This led to a true shooting percentage of 89.1 percent.
Contract status
Green is playing on the first of two club options in the coming season. He will make $3,098,400 this season with a club option for $4,765,339 in 2023-24. Unless he is traded, that option will be picked up. He then has a qualifying offer of $6,762,016 for 2024-2025 in order to become a restricted free agent.
Looking ahead
How will the jump shot turn out? Green is less than the sum of his physical gifts defensively, but that will almost certainly improve as he grows more accustomed to the league. The jumper will be the skill that determines his future. After the All-Star break, Green shot 41 percent from three over a 17 game sample. That would appear to bode well for his future but then his jumper failed him during the playoffs.
He made 5-of-22 threes overall and 2-of-17 outside of an outlier performance in Game 3 against the Utah Jazz. He lost his spot in the rotation during the series against the Phoenix Suns and never truly regained it. The Mavericks are a contending team now and they need Green to make a quantum lap this offseason.
Grade: C-
While a C can be disappointing in school, C means average. Green showed enough flashes during his second season to deserve more minutes this coming season. Unfortunately, his playoff implosion prevents this grade from being any higher and earns him the minus.