You got to root for this kid! Gerald Green

[Induna]

I'll root for Gerald just becoz there is just so much [dang] hate directed at this kid

[repole]

To me, the biggest sign that Gerald's matured to me is that he took less money to play for Dallas. A guy who's on the brink of being out of the NBA doesn't take less money and less security unless they plan on doing everything in their power to stay in the league. A less mature kid takes the top dollar offer, but Gerald recognized that Dallas was the best situation available to turn his career around.

Who offered him more?

Denver offered him a 2 year contract before the end of last season, and Gerald elected to stay in Houston and workout with John Lucas instead.

I've heard that Denver again tried this summer, though I'm not sure they're the team that "offered more." Both Mavs management and Gerald have eluded to this (it's mentioned in a number of interviews), with both sides stating that Gerald decided on the Mavs because he felt they were the best fit for his development.

[Finkelskyhook]

Denver would have been a horrible situation for Green.  He'd have a perfect coach around a bunch of bonheaded idiots for role models.

I think he may have a chance with Carlisle.  He'll either learn to play defense or he'll be out of the league.  But with Carlisle, Prunty, and Elie, he's probably got the best chance short of Thibodeau as his coach to learn NBA defense.  With Kidd, one of the NBA's worst characters but best at making teammates their best, Green should minimize turnovers.  Green has a great opportunity in Dallas.

[Sweet17]

Proof positive: 4 years of college can help even the most gifted athletes.
Case in point, Gerald is a poster boy for the NBA age limit rule.

College wouldn't have helped him. Did Kobe need college?! If anything college is LESS helpful. Your limited in practice time by NCAA rules. Whereas in the pros or europe you can get tons of individual help and attention. In college they don't even have the time to coach guys one on one. They have to spend it on team concepts because of the NCAA regulations. I honestly can't believe people post stuff like this..

GG is just a bad basketball player.

Pete

[zerophase]

Proof positive: 4 years of college can help even the most gifted athletes.
Case in point, Gerald is a poster boy for the NBA age limit rule.

College wouldn't have helped him. Did Kobe need college?! If anything college is LESS helpful. Your limited in practice time by NCAA rules. Whereas in the pros or europe you can get tons of individual help and attention. In college they don't even have the time to coach guys one on one. They have to spend it on team concepts because of the NCAA regulations. I honestly can't believe people post stuff like this..

GG is just a bad basketball player.

Pete

first of all, you can't say that. all players are different. what works for one can't apply for all. sure there are amazing hs talents: james, kg, kobe, but they're also good players that's been in college for 4 years, example: ROY, 2008 all-star brandon roy.

half the time its not just basketball, its maturity. theres been stories that say gerald didn't even know what to pack as the celtics went on the road. the college experience definitely grows people up.

[Mr October]

Proof positive: 4 years of college can help even the most gifted athletes.
Case in point, Gerald is a poster boy for the NBA age limit rule.

College wouldn't have helped him. Did Kobe need college?! If anything college is LESS helpful. Your limited in practice time by NCAA rules. Whereas in the pros or europe you can get tons of individual help and attention. In college they don't even have the time to coach guys one on one. They have to spend it on team concepts because of the NCAA regulations. I honestly can't believe people post stuff like this..

GG is just a bad basketball player.

Pete

first of all, you can't say that. all players are different. what works for one can't apply for all. sure there are amazing hs talents: james, kg, kobe, but they're also good players that's been in college for 4 years, example: ROY, 2008 all-star brandon roy.

half the time its not just basketball, its maturity. theres been stories that say gerald didn't even know what to pack as the celtics went on the road. the college experience definitely grows people up.

Right. I think Kobe in particular could have gained a lot of maturity by going to college (for off the court and teammate bonding purposes). Maybe he wouldn't have been such a punk.

[zerophase]

Proof positive: 4 years of college can help even the most gifted athletes.
Case in point, Gerald is a poster boy for the NBA age limit rule.

College wouldn't have helped him. Did Kobe need college?! If anything college is LESS helpful. Your limited in practice time by NCAA rules. Whereas in the pros or europe you can get tons of individual help and attention. In college they don't even have the time to coach guys one on one. They have to spend it on team concepts because of the NCAA regulations. I honestly can't believe people post stuff like this..

GG is just a bad basketball player.

Pete

first of all, you can't say that. all players are different. what works for one can't apply for all. sure there are amazing hs talents: james, kg, kobe, but they're also good players that's been in college for 4 years, example: ROY, 2008 all-star brandon roy.

half the time its not just basketball, its maturity. theres been stories that say gerald didn't even know what to pack as the celtics went on the road. the college experience definitely grows people up.

Right. I think Kobe in particular could have gained a lot of maturity by going to college (for off the court and teammate bonding purposes). Maybe he wouldn't have been such a punk.

or a rapist

[Jay_Diggles]

I do not think anyone can speculate that college would have not helped Kobe, Gerald or any high school project.  Anyone in the right environment will progress.  But the ability/talent of Kobe, KG, Howard could have bloosmed faster with college experience, but also shortned their NBA carear.  But in this case Gerald is individual proof that college experience what have made a major impact in his progress in the NBA! 

But bottom line, is I like the kid and root for him to have the "P"  potential to blossom!  GO Gerald

[guava_wrench]

I do not think anyone can speculate that college would have not helped Kobe, Gerald or any high school project.  Anyone in the right environment will progress.  But the ability/talent of Kobe, KG, Howard could have bloosmed faster with college experience, but also shortned their NBA carear.  But in this case Gerald is individual proof that college experience what have made a major impact in his progress in the NBA!

Very illogical.

Of course you can speculate that they benefited more from being in the NBA right away. You can speculate either way. The only thing you can't speculate about is them getting paid for their efforts in college. Kobe, Lebron, Amare and Howard might have blossomed slower if they played against weaker college competition first. We'll never know, so it is silly to debate.

Gerald is proof of nothing. The only thing we know for sure is that if he went to college, he would have entered the NBA a year older. We can assume that the extra year would have included some emotional and physical development whether more or less than what would happen in our non-college-attending parallel universe. There are plenty of Harold Miner types that came to NBA with great talent after college but did nothing.

Stop looking for things to blame. The dude is what he is: a mediocre prospect.

"Anyone in the right environment will progress."

Uh, no. Not true. people have limitations and can plateau. Also, even in the ideal environment, some people who can progress will progress slowly and not that far.

[guava_wrench]

To me, the biggest sign that Gerald's matured to me is that he took less money to play for Dallas. A guy who's on the brink of being out of the NBA doesn't take less money and less security unless they plan on doing everything in their power to stay in the league. A less mature kid takes the top dollar offer, but Gerald recognized that Dallas was the best situation available to turn his career around.

Who offered him more?

Denver offered him a 2 year contract before the end of last season, and Gerald elected to stay in Houston and workout with John Lucas instead.

I've heard that Denver again tried this summer, though I'm not sure they're the team that "offered more." Both Mavs management and Gerald have eluded to this (it's mentioned in a number of interviews), with both sides stating that Gerald decided on the Mavs because he felt they were the best fit for his development.

Did you ever think that maybe he didn't want to sign a 2 year deal because he would rather try to develop this year to get a better deal next year?

They can put whatever spin they want. It could just be that he is following his agent's advice.

[Edgar]

To me, the biggest sign that Gerald's matured to me is that he took less money to play for Dallas. A guy who's on the brink of being out of the NBA doesn't take less money and less security unless they plan on doing everything in their power to stay in the league. A less mature kid takes the top dollar offer, but Gerald recognized that Dallas was the best situation available to turn his career around.

Who offered him more?

Denver offered him a 2 year contract before the end of last season, and Gerald elected to stay in Houston and workout with John Lucas instead.

I've heard that Denver again tried this summer, though I'm not sure they're the team that "offered more." Both Mavs management and Gerald have eluded to this (it's mentioned in a number of interviews), with both sides stating that Gerald decided on the Mavs because he felt they were the best fit for his development.

Did you ever think that maybe he didn't want to sign a 2 year deal because he would rather try to develop this year to get a better deal next year?

They can put whatever spin they want. It could just be that he is following his agent's advice.

yup
<I wonder if its the same agent
if hes not with dallas next year
hes not going to be anywhere so yes
mabe he will lose some $$$ and some time
and I hate the hate word
i am just being objective here 

[Lexiz300]

I'm rooting for Gerald Green. But let's be real about it. The reason why he sign with Dallas instead of Denver is because of Jason Kidd. Gerald wants to bring J-Kidd to the slam dunk contest next year so he can get back his crown and I'm sure that's all he is thinking about. Not the x's & o's of basketball but dunking. Don't get me wrong I like gerald green and I hope he does well in Dallas.

[zerophase]

Denver would have been a horrible situation for Green.  He'd have a perfect coach around a bunch of bonheaded idiots for role models.

I think he may have a chance with Carlisle.  He'll either learn to play defense or he'll be out of the league.  But with Carlisle, Prunty, and Elie, he's probably got the best chance short of Thibodeau as his coach to learn NBA defense.  With Kidd, one of the NBA's worst characters but best at making teammates their best, Green should minimize turnovers.  Green has a great opportunity in Dallas.

what are you sayin? denver would have been perfect. all offense, and not any semblance of defense- that sounds like gerald's dream world to me.

[cordobes]

The only thing we know for sure is that if he went to college, he would have entered the NBA a year older.

I don't know that for sure. There's a chance that he'd never make the NBA if he went to college. His lack of understanding of the game would be exposed there. He'd probably be a 2nd round pick, maybe he wouldn't go further than a training camp. From this point of view, it was a smart decision of him.

Also, as I've argued previously, I think the problem with many players like Green is before the college. College coaches shouldn't have to deal with players so raw as Gerald. They are focused primarily on winning, as they should.   

[iowa plowboy]

what are you sayin? denver would have been perfect. all offense, and not any semblance of defense- that sounds like gerald's dream world to me.

I think at this point in his career it would behoove Gerald to be around a few grownups.  I also think that Karl is a great coach.  But like Rivers, he tends to throw his role players under the bus while ignoring the shortcomings of the team's best players.  Not good when the maturity level of your team's core is that of a teenager.

Carlisle is more of a straight shooter.  Also with Kidd and a cast of grown-up vets around Green, Gerald will have a much better chance.

Agree with cordebes' last post.

A team with the thugster, Mr Snitch, Martin, and Smith as your best players would be far from what Gerald needs....Regardless of the type of ball they play.