02-17-2022, 01:21 AM
(02-16-2022, 06:45 PM)Winter Wrote: I never said he was a finished product, but I understand your point. He might be the next DFS. However, I do think the Mavericks have had time to evaluate him either way. And because he's a draft pick, there are certain things they have to consider regarding salary that they didn't have to consider with DFS. The Mavericks weren't paying DFS 3 million a year during his first year. They were paying him 600K and he had already spent 4 years in a college program. They could afford to work through his weaknesses. However, he impressed people so quickly that he started getting rotation minutes in his first season. And he would be dirt cheap for two more years.
In college, DFS was well established:
"As a sophomore in 2013–14, Finney-Smith was named SEC Sixth Man of the Year,"
"As a junior in 2014–15, Finney-Smith was named second-team All-SEC by the coaches and was Florida's leading scorer (13.1), rebounder (6.2) and three-point shooter (.426)"
"As a senior in 2015–16, Finney-Smith was named second-team All-SEC by the coaches and third-team All-SEC by the Associated Press"
With only one year of college, Josh Green was always more of a crap shoot... and a more expensive one to maintain than DFS ever was. I don't think Green is going to be given the luxury of a club option in 2023 (when he's scheduled to make 4.7 Mil. a year). That's too expensive for what he brings.
But yes, he could turn it around in one more year. I just don't think that's likely from what we've seen the last two years. Honestly, I think Josh Green's value is best used in a trade package. I think the Mavs would get more out of him in that way.
While I completely disagree with statements like "Green is closer to Justin Jackson than DFS", I do agree that being a first round draft pick means the clock starts ticking a lot sooner than it does for undrafted guys. Its a strong argument for going after more experienced guys when drafting in the late first round, especially in a year when Covid is going to impact development. I will never understand why this FO drafted three projects in a Covid year while also being in a win now mode.
It still kills me we didn't draft Bane (although I didn't know he would be this good, this quickly) but Green is still a year younger than Bane was when he entered the league. If I were a betting man, I would lean towards Green getting that club option.