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Earlier this off-season the Boston Celtics officially signed Jeff Green to a contract for 4 years and $36 million. This was an interesting signing because Green missed all of last season due to heart surgery. He has always been a solid, but not great player, and does not typically excel in one particular area. So this raises the question: Was this a good deal for the Celtics, or were they better off looking elsewhere?
When filling out a Championship caliber roster, Green is usually the type of player you would look for in a backup role. He can hit big shots, play good defense, and provide some efficient minutes. The question still remains, is that player worth $9 million a year? Personally, I would have spent the money elsewhere, but I get why they did it. This is nothing against Green who I actually really like. I just don’t like the amount of money they committed to him, especially after coming off surgery to the most important part of your body. Let’s compare the deal Ryan Anderson got from New Orleans this off-season. He got basically the exact same deal as Green and he is coming off of an All-Star caliber season. He led the league in 3 pointers made and he is an excellent shooter overall. He is the ideal fit for a stretch 4 forward. He is also a decent rebounder and provides good energy and hustle. For me, especially after a guy has an all-star type season, I would rather have that guy. I get it though, the Celtics had Green’s Bird Rights and virtually had no competition for his services, where if they pursued Anderson, they were going up against the rest of the league and perhaps teams that could offer a lot more money, so maybe it just wasn’t worth their time.
Green is a really good player and can absolutely help the Celtics in a positive capacity; I just don’t think he is worth $9 million a year when you might have been able to allocate the money in a more productive way. But I guess in a league where Ian Mahinmi gets $4 million a year and Amir Johnson gets $8 million a year, you are going to have to pay guys, even if it is well above market value.
Rob Lunder covers the Boston Celtics for Rant Sports. For all Celtics news go to the Celtics team page on Rant Sports.
