Jeff Green's combination of youth and athleticism has numerous teams inquiring about his impending unrestricted free agency later this summer, writes Sam Amick of SI.com. The former Georgetown star missed the entire 2011/2012 season after suffering from an aortic aneurysm in December and undergoing surgery in January. Green's agent David Falk considers his client to be back to 100% health as he heads into the offseason as possibly the No. 2 free agent with 10-12 teams inquiring about his interest in taking his talents to their respective cities.
"With the possible exception of (Brooklyn point guard) Deron Williams, I think that Jeff will probably be the No. 1 unrestricted free agent on the market," Falk said. "It's not like we have LeBron (James) and (Dwyane) Wade and all these guys floating around. I'd be very surprised if Deron Williams winds up anywhere besides Dallas or New Jersey (Brooklyn). So the next guy in the pecking order is Jeff Green."
It's been a difficult year for Green beyond his health as he's watched one of his former teams, the Thunder, make it all the way to the NBA Finals and have a legitimate chance of beating LeBron James for the Larry O'Brien Trophy. Green has narrowed down his list of teams he is interested in to three or four, including the Celtics, who can pay the former first-round pick more than any other team as they have his Bird Rights. Regardless of where Green ends up, he feels fortunate that he can return to the court and that has Falk thinking the 26-year-old small forward will increase his sense of urgency to become a better player next season.
"He had something that he loves almost taken away from him. I truly believe that — more than any pep talk from (his former Georgetown) coach (John) Thompson or from (Celtics coach) Doc Rivers, I think that the experience will give him a much greater sense of urgency on the court. I think he'll be better than ever, because I think he'll be much more focused on getting the job done."
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