Could The Phoenix Suns Still Keep Gerald Green?
The Suns will be committing the majority of their cap space this summer to re-signing Knight and the front office has to be aware that this team is still one star player away from taking the next step. If adding a summer star is impossible, the Suns would be wise to turn their attention to adding veterans who can help the young guys develop.
Is Green willing to take on that role? His future with the Suns could depend on it, provided he even wants to stay in Phoenix given the volatile nature of his last few months here.
There’s always the possibility the Suns have hurt his market value by playing him so infrequently over the last few weeks. After the 2013-14 season, Green seemed heading for a nice pay day upon reaching free agency. Now it doesn’t seem impossible that the Suns could re-sign him for around $3-4 million annually.
That’s not a huge price to pay, especially with the NBA’s salary cap set to explode soon. But the Suns also might be better off spending that cap space elsewhere if Green really is ready for a larger role on a new team.
Nights like last night make nostalgia the easy path, and watching Green drill an ill-advised corner three, gesture to the crowd, nod his head up and down and yell unknown things to himself like a crazy person is NBA cinema (“I have no idea one word that comes out of his mouth,” Tucker says of Green’s in-the-zone moments. “I don’t even try anymore.”).
But unless he’s willing to take a small amount of money to play a similarly frustrating, “veteran” role of “be ready for the rare occasions we need you,” Gerald Green’s recent heat check may be one of his last for the Phoenix Suns.
Next: Phoenix Suns: How Their Defense Improved And Their Offense Died