In today's NBA chock full of three-point riflemen, a franchise can not have too many three-point shooters who can double as floor spacers and solid defenders.
Over the last few offseasons, veteran players who fit the above description have been at the top of every NBA team's wish list, with 3-time NBA champion shooting guard Danny Green always managing to surface to the top of that list.
After getting his start in Cleveland and a long, rather successful tenure in San Antonio, Green has now been labeled by the general public as a ring chaser, jumping from contender to contender to add more rings to his fingers.
But unlike veteran players who are hanging on to a thread like Tracy McGrady, Steve Nash and David West at the end of their respective careers, Green has played a reliable role on every squad he has been on.
Not only does he provide a veteran presence and leadership in the locker room, but he also produces on the court, as he has been counted on as a starter to score double digits while being a capable defender on the other side of the court.
The Los Angeles Lakers are hoping that adding Green to their star-powered roster will help all of them add a ring, as they signed Green to a two year, $30 million deal hoping he has still has enough in the tank to contribute.
The Lakers are especially hoping Green can sustain his career resurgence that he had last season. The former North Carolina Tar Heel had his highest points per game average (10.3) since 2015.
He managed to hit a double digit average by having one of the most efficient seasons of his career last season, as he was able to post his second-best field goal percentage in his 10-year career (46.5 percent) while simultaneously posting the best three-point percentage of his career (45.5 percent on 5.4 threes a game).
Green was able to have an efficient based on the role he played on the Raptors; their offense allowed everyone to get involved, and the starters he shared the court with in Kyle Lowry, Kawhi Leonard, Pascal Siakam and Marc Gasol were all capable passers who could find Green whenever he was open.
Luckily for Green, he'll be playing with talented passers on the Lakers in Lebron James and Anthony Davis, as it will also help the Lakers' chemistry that Green doesn't need the ball a lot to succeed. The veteran shooter is confident that playing with these superstars will allow him to stay efficient, as he told Mike Bresnahan of Spectrum Sports.
Playing with LeBron and A.D., and obviously the other great players: Dwight, Kuz, Rondo, A.B. — so many guys we have on this team — and kind of feed off them. They’re going to push the pace, they’re going to create open shots — not just for myself but for them. I’ll try my best to shoot as good as I did last year, if not better, and try to make as many.
Green has thrived playing with superstars his whole career, as evidenced with his time with the Spurs. While Green has never truly been a guard that can run an offense, he is fine with being a complementary player that shines with stars like Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobli.
The Lakers could certainly use Green's presence from beyond the arc, as they've been ranked 29th in three-point percentage the last two seasons.
That ranking is bound to change with Green at the helm. As long as the veteran guard can avoid the injury bug and continue to shoot efficiently, he could be a part of a Laker lineup made up of Green, James, Davis, Kyle Kuzma an Rajon Rondo.
That starting lineup and theoretical crunch-time lineup can compete, as they have a lot of star power while also having five capable defenders who can all create their own shot on offense.
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