Danny Green Tells the Truth of Why He Picked Lakers Over Mavs
DALLAS - Last summer, in NBA free agency, the Dallas Mavericks waited. And waited. And waited ... on Danny Green to make his destination decision. The two-time NBA champion was making the jump from Toronto and he was coveted, Dallas certainly looking at him as a candidate to be a third member of a "Big Three'' keyed by Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis.
So, why, after the deliberating, did Green decide to sign with the Los Angeles Lakers?
“Dallas was very interested, the Lakers were interested,” Green said of his free agency decision during a recent appearance on “Take it There” with Taylor Rooks, (ht ClutchPoints). “But the Lakers, to me, were front-runners to me because of the pieces they had now.''
That's fair. After all, LeBron James and Anthony Davis? Separately or in tandem, when it comes to "pieces,'' that's about as good as it gets.
And Green's evaluation of the Mavs?
“Dallas has some really good pieces, but (my thinking was) it would be a year or two for them to be in that conversation.''
Again, difficult to argue with. Green signed a two-year, $30 million deal with his preferred team (it is rumored that Dallas may have offered slightly less, though that doesn't appear to have been a driving force here) and before the COVID-19 hiatus that has shut down the NBA season, Green and the Lakers are a Western Conference-best 49-14, while Luka and KP have pushed Dallas to a No. 7 seed in the West with a 40-27 record.
One would think that with a little time, the Mavs' tandem will get more momentum as a drawing card with "the right pieces.'' But for now? Green revealing what we kind of already knew - that "Those were the two front-runners, the Lakers and Dallas'' - will have to suffice.''
