But there’s a big difference between Green and Ben Simmons, the 76ers’ troubled superstar who appears headed for the trade market.
Green can’t wait to shoot, even from long range, and even when the stakes are highest.
They’ve crashed out of three straight postseasons with Simmons on the floor , each time realizing that Simmons and center Joel Embiid cannot co-exist in pressure-filled situations.
With his free-throw shot in hopeless disarray , he essentially abandoned the notion of getting fouled after shooting 4-for-14 from the line in Game 5.
It got so bad that with 3:49 left to play in Game 7, the 76ers down by two points, Simmons couldn’t pull the trigger on an easy, wide-open dunk after spinning nicely around the Hawks’ Danilo Gallinari.
Philadelphia coach Doc Rivers and GM Daryl Morey have been talking up Simmons, desperately trying to preserve his worth in trade, but they’re not fooling anyone.
Meanwhile, Draymond Green will continue being an all-NBA defender, running the fast break and orchestrating half-court sets in historic fashion for a forward.
It’s another matter to actually find such a player in the draft or via trade or on the free-agent market, and it’s been interesting to check the mock drafts being published by NBA insiders.
He’d been watching Luka Donic in European play since the kid was 14, and he made certain the Mavericks drafted Doncic after two teams passed on him and Atlanta offered his rights in trade.
• Doncic hated to see Nelson go, saying, “It’s kind of tough for me” and likely being more candid off the record.
In 2012, he was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving after smashing his vehicle into a telephone pole — and after pleading guilty in 2013, he drew a two-game suspension from the NBA.
He has been a valuable NBA assistant, most recently with the Lakers, and his reputation for player development includes Giannis Antetokounmpo Doncic fully endorsed the hire, as did Rick Carlisle after he resigned as the Dallas head coach earlier this month.
He’s twice been cited in these playoffs for violating the 10-second rule, and in truth, he takes around 12 seconds each time he’s at the charity stripe.
And a suggestion for Antetokounmpo, so magnificent in other phases of the game: Watch players who don’t waste time, and who shoot consistently well from around head-level.