Gerald Green's agent calls Suns coach Jeff Hornacek's criticism 'nonsense'
Gerald Green's agent, Kevin Bradbury, is pushing back after Suns coach Jeff Hornacek criticized Green to the media, according to Sporting News.
Bradbury called Hornacek's criticism of Green "nonsense," saying that he doesn't feel the team's struggles should all fall on one player.
“It's unfortunate because the team isn't where some people thought it would or should be at this point in the season," Bradbury, of BDA Sports, told Sporting News. "I'm not sure why that falls on one guy all of a sudden, especially when they have known all along what they have with Gerald. He can score, and can score a lot quickly, when you give him the minutes. He brings it on the defensive end, consistent with what the team brings as a unit. But when you hear the coach saying he is so bad that he can’t be on the floor? That’s nonsense. You have to wonder where that comes from and why.”
Hornacek discussed Green, who has been coming off the bench since January, earlier this week.
“[Green] never really seemed to get it going and then it comes to the point where, if you’re not scoring and if your defense isn’t picking up, it’s hard to stay in the game," Hornacek said, according to The Arizona Republic.
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Green is in his second year with the Suns, and exploded on Wednesday night against the Mavericks with 30 points on 10-19 shooting in an 107-104 loss. His minutes are down from 28.4 last season to 19.3, and his scoring average has dipped by four points, down to 11.8 per game.
“It's completely unfair to misrepresent Gerald and his game like this," Bradbury told Sporting News. "You’re talking about a player that wants to win at any cost and is a tremendous locker [room] guy and teammate. I don't see the benefit for the coach to go about things this way.”
“The numbers show pretty clearly that Gerald is not the terrible defensive player he is being made out to be,” Bradbury added.
Green, who is making $3.5 million this season, can become a free agent this summer. He said he wants to stay, but that he isn't convinced the Suns want him to return.
"I want to be here but I just don't know if they want me here," Green told The Arizona Republic. "Because if you want somebody, you show them. I didn't think I was playing that bad and now we're here."
The Suns were mathematically eliminated from playoff contention after last night's loss to Dallas.
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