Unexpected Mentor: Mavs’ Josh Green Training with Hall-of-Fame Forward
Although Josh Green didn’t play in Summer League for the Dallas Mavericks, he’s still been putting in work in Las Vegas … with an unexpected, high-profile mentor.
Videos of Green working on his ball-handling and shooting off the dribble have surfaced. There are also reports that he is working at the Impact Academy with NBA Hall-of-Fame inductee Kevin Garnett. Garnett is said to be working with both Green and Portland's Keon Johnson.
There are several aspects of Garnett's game that Green could benefit from —the first of those being his footwork. Garnett was known for his post-presence because of what he could do with his back to the basket. With the Mavericks already having several outside shooters, this could be an area of Green's game that could help him take a step forward.
Green could also let Garnett's ability to shoot the ball — both off the dribble and in catch-and-shoot situations — rub off on him a little bit.
One thing NBA fans have always loved about Garnett is his unwavering confidence on the court. This was something that was severely lacking in Green's game during the playoffs and was ultimately one of the factors that saw him lose out on minutes to Frank Ntilikina.
Garnett proved throughout his career that he could effectively guard multiple positions, so perhaps Green can further enhance his game in that area as well. Green has always had a knack for being effective on defense, but he still has to learn how to properly harness some of that frenetic energy.
When an athlete is trying to improve, often times they’ll look to someone who has been there and done it before. Even though they play different positions, Garnett has a lot of things that made him successful, and those things can be taught to Green.
This development is something that should give the Mavs confidence that Green’s drive to be better is indeed there. Mavs fans can take excitement in this as well, especially after the concern of him not participating in Summer League.
