Former first-round pick Josh Green is “playing great,” according to Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd, who predicted on Monday that Green is headed for a significant payday on his next contract if he continues on his current trajectory.
“The truth is, the kid is really good, and if he continues to keep working, he’s gonna make a lot of money,” Kidd said during his postgame media session (Twitter video link via Callie Caplan of The Dallas Morning News).
When one reporter pointed out that Kidd made similar comments about Jalen Brunson, who ultimately left Dallas in free agency, the head coach said with a laugh that Brunson’s payday with the Knicks was “not my fault,” adding that “hopefully (Green) doesn’t leave.”
“But I didn’t lie to you, (Brunson) got paid,” Kidd said. “Josh is gonna get paid a lot of money, I’m telling you here today. If he continues to work and help with the team, the kid has all the talents to be a superstar. He just has to play. … The more minutes he gets, the better he’s gotten.”
Green, who is earning approximately $3.1MM this season, played sparingly in his first two years in Dallas, averaging 4.0 points and 2.3 rebounds per game on .493/.311/.647 shooting in 106 total appearances (14.0 MPG).
The 6’5″ wing has earned a more substantial role this season and is putting up 7.2 PPG on .602/.462/.698 shooting in 20.2 minutes per night. Kidd’s comments on Monday came after Green had 16 points, five assists, and four rebounds on 6-of-7 shooting in a blowout win over Phoenix.
Because Green is in the third year of his rookie scale contract, he’ll become eligible for a rookie scale extension in July. If he doesn’t sign a new deal during the 2023 offseason, he’d be on track for free agency in the summer of 2024.
The Mavericks will be in a better position to retain Green than they were with Brunson, since they’ll be able to make the 22-year-old a restricted free agent at the end of his current contract. Because Brunson was a second-round pick and signed a four-year contract, he became an unrestricted free agent when that deal expired.
For his part, Green said on Monday that he appreciated the praise from Kidd and that he feels as if he’s made real progress in the past year. As he observed, he spent some time with the Texas Legends in the G League last fall — now he’s a valued member of Dallas’ rotation.
“It means a lot. Anything coming from coach means a lot,” Green said (video Twitter link via Caplan). “Especially putting myself into where I was a year ago. I was down in Frisco a year ago, so being able to hear that, it’s awesome.”
Paid? I think that was the 1st game of the season he played remarkably, and now he is due to get Brunson money? Whoa… Slow down there. Just because Brunson went to New York doesn’t mean Dallas has to overpay everyone prematurely.
You’ve not watched many mavs games have you.. He’s played really well last 5-6 games and well enough the games prior to that. Kids like a frikkn Duracell battery for the team when he comes to on.
I’ve watched enough to see he isn’t producing what Brunson was. So talking about him & Brunson & Money in the same breath is 100% fluff. Good off the bench is one thing, but ready for $30 million per next season? That is an exaggeration, and my point. A little premature. Jaden Hardy 10 points in 2 minutes last night. Should he be compared to Brunson and paid also?
Relax, you’re the only one saying he’s going to get Brunson money. He’s making like 3 million, so even if he were to make say, $12 million a year, that’s a significant increase. I’m guessing they’ll look at closer to $15 a yr though.
Im not anxious or tense, the article says Jason Kidd says Josh Green is gonna get paid like he said Brunson would. I didn’t exaggerate, or start off like I’m some sort of tough guy addressing the author with Relax. Kind of childish in an online sports comment section. I also didn’t insult anybody with how much basketball intelligence they have or not. You & the other commenter offer sports facts & opinion by way of insult? Where is that relevant or helpful? I’m the problem though, right? Get over yourself, your ego is much larger than your brain.
All the article says is that Kidd thinks Green will get paid. He did not say that Green will ‘get Brunson money’, as you put it. You are reading way too far into Kidd’s comments.
I wasn’t aware that telling someone to relax is an insult. I rather enjoy it. I simply stated what I thought they may offer him as an extension. Kidd said Brunson would get paid last year and that’s what he’s saying about Green. He’s not saying that he’s going to get paid the same amount as JB. I wasn’t trying to attack you, just simply state that you’re taking it out of context and like you said, it’s a sports comment section. I hope your day gets better.
It’s funny you take more issue with that and less with the superstar comments lol.
Also, “and if he continues to keep working” implies he needs to keep getting better to reach that sort of payday.
I like Kidd as a HC, and this isn’t a big deal. But, still, it’s statements like this that Kidd’s critics will point to as indicating he doesn’t get that as a HC his team is the entire organization not just his players. They’re not wrong. Plenty of ways to build up your players in the media without talking about something that’s not your job, but that of your FO. To boot, this doesn’t really help the player get paid. Being an advocate for him with the FO at the appropriate time might (but that wouldn’t be about him).