‘More Motivated Than Ever’: Could Josh Green Fill Mavs’ Playmaker Need?
The development of 21-year-old Josh Green could play a vital role in determining how high the Dallas Mavericks’ ceiling will be next season after losing Jalen Brunson to the New York Knicks in free agency.
The Mavs improved their big-man situation by trading for Christian Wood and signing JaVale McGee, but they’ve yet to address the specific secondary playmaking void that Brunson’s departure created. Unless Dallas can add another piece before training camp, Green, who is actually one of the more gifted passers on the roster, could be asked to assume more of those secondary playmaking responsibilities off the bench with Spencer Dinwiddie joining Luka Doncic in the starting lineup.
This offseason, Green has been in Las Vegas training with Joe Abunassar of Impact Basketball, who has helped players like Kevin Garnett and Kyle Lowry achieve breakout seasons in the past. Green sat down with BasketballNews.com’s Alex Kennedy to talk about this previous season and what’s to come in the near future.
“Being able to get to the conference finals during my second year only makes me want to go further and further,” said Green. “I was able to play in the Utah series and then got benched. So, for me, it’s cool that I was able to play in the rotation for the first [series], but shit, I’m a basketball player and wanted to continue to [play]."
Although Green was frustrated, he realizes why he wasn't able to play more in the second round against the Phoenix Suns and then in the conference finals against the Golden State Warriors.
"But there was a reason: I need to hit my shots. So going into this offseason, that motivated me a lot more. I want to make sure I’m ready to go for next season, so when that opportunity comes again, I’m confident going into it and ready to go...
“It’s hard being on the bench and watching the team lose and being like, ‘Damn, I want to play.’ ... I’m one of the most competitive people. I hate it, but whatever it is, I’m just very competitive.”
One thing some fans groan about is when players post flashy highlights throughout the summer, especially if the highlights aren’t things you’ll see those players doing in actual games. Green assures that he’s focusing on all the right aspects of his game heading into his third season.
“I think the biggest thing for me is just realizing what I need to do to help the team out,” said Green. “I’m not trying to work on stuff that I’m not gonna do in a game. And I’m coming in with full confidence, knowing what I need to do and being ready to go. I’m more motivated than ever.”
Despite it being a small sample size, Green did improve his 3-point shooting from his rookie year to his second year. Green shot 16 percent from deep as a rookie on just 25 total attempts, but upped that to 36 percent on 78 attempts last season. If he can maintain that mid-30s percentage on higher volume, the Mavs will be better than most people expect.
“[And shooting] is just something that you can never not work on. For me, my leg would go in a lot last year and I need to make sure that my base isn’t too wide, so there were a couple of corrections that I made,” said Green.
“My confidence is high, man. I’m ready to go, and I can’t wait for next year. Coach [Jason] Kidd really helped me out last year, and he has a lot of trust in me, so now it’s just about me going forward and continuing to develop and show what I can do. I’m on a veteran team — a very good team — so for me, it’s just about doing what I can do to impress and just play like I usually play.”
Green has shown flashes of his potential in the last two years, but for a number of reasons — some of which were out of his control — he just hasn’t been able to put it all together yet. If he’s finally able to do it this year, the Mavs could very well find themselves back in the Western Conference Finals again.
