Devin Green

Not many players can claim to have had as unlikely a career as Devin Green has over the past few years. A last minute invite to the Portsmouth Invitational tournament back in 2005—likely more due to the fact that he went to school down the street at Hampton (of the anonymous MEAC conference, where he played mostly power forward) than because of any real NBA interest—Green shockingly made the Lakers roster the following year and managed to stick all season long.

He spent the next few years alternating between thoroughly dominating the D-League, toiling in NBA summer leagues and training camps, and bouncing around places like Germany, Italy, Belgium and the Ukraine, never really sticking around in one place for very long and likely missing out on establishing himself as a legit NBA player in the process.

Green has regardless looked like an interesting prospect pretty much every time we had a chance to fully evaluate him, as he possesses terrific versatility to go along with a very NBA friendly profile with his excellent physical tools. He can create his own shot effectively, defend multiple positions, make plays for others, and make shots from the perimeter at a good enough rate to wonder why he hasn't gotten another chance.

He's playing in mid-level Greece this season and is clearly one of the better American players in that very competitive league, again making you ponder whether he can't play at a much higher level. He has a reputation for being overly unselfish at times, but is still young and talented enough to get yet another look this upcoming summer, if he hasn't already tired of waiting for the NBA that is.

This performance was eerily similar to the ones that Green has been putting up in the D-League for the last two years. He’s a capable shooter, and while he doesn’t get much elevation, he’s very consistent when he has space. Greens ball handling is solid, but he’s not quick enough to turn the corner. This often leads to turnovers since he can’t beat his defender and often winds up getting caught over-penetrating when defenders collapse around him. The former Hampton guard shows good rebounding ability and court vision in the open floor. His comfort level against D-League competition is very high, but he’s a borderline NBA guy. Defensively, Green does a good job making hustle plays, and had one very nice block today on a dunk attempt. His athleticism limits his potential, but he’s a skilled guard who doesn’t do many things great, but does most things well.

Devin Green continued to show today why he’s considered by most as the top call-up candidate in the D-League, and his impact went far beyond the numbers. The talented guard missed on all three of his three point shots today, but had no problem beating the Toros off the dribble and showed the ability to do a number of different things on the dribble-drive. Green shows the ability to hit the pull-up jumper in the paint, or the scoop lay-up over bigger defenders.. If the defense crowds the paint, he chooses to kick the ball to the open man rather than driving into traffic.

Some have criticized the 25 year-old for not taking over games, but he will be a role player type in the NBA rather than a go-to scorer. On a team with 6 former NBA players, Green seems content doing all of the little things for the team, and generally takes most of his shots within the flow of the offense. Defensively, he uses good length and a well built frame to shut down opposing wings.

After considering everything Green can bring to a team, it’s baffling that no NBA squad has given him a chance this season. Numerous roster spots remain open on NBA teams, and plenty of them could potentially benefit from giving the versatile gluy guy a chance. Boston would be a great fit for Green where he could play minutes next to Ray Allen and Paul Pierce. His versatility would also fit very nicely in Miami next to Dwayne Wade. With everything he displayed in Boise in front of many NBA decision-makers, it appears that his chance will arrive very soon.

Devin Green had an outstanding showing in the opening game of day two here in Boise, putting his entire arsenal of offensive talent on display in what might be considered an NBA callup worthy performance.

Green spent a season in the NBA already with the Lakers two years back, and there is no doubt that he has NBA caliber tools physically. He has excellent size for the shooting guard position, and outstanding athletic ability—featuring terrific quickness, great fluidity, an explosive first step, and a good vertical leap, being extremely quick off his feet.

Offensively, you’d be hard pressed to find a more impressive wing player here in Boise. Green creates his own shot incredibly well thanks to his terrific quickness and ball-handling skills, and is very advanced at keeping his defender off balance thanks to a nice array of jab-steps, shot-fakes, hesitation moves and fantastic footwork. He is extremely smooth and effortless with everything he does, almost looking like things come a bit too easy for him at times, which some people might (and do) confuse with a lack of effort. His mid-range game is particularly impressive, being able to stop on a dime and create separation from his defender off the dribble, with a nice high release point and pretty solid mechanics from 16-18 feet.

The knock on Green at times has been his ability to knock down shots consistently from the perimeter, and indeed his mechanics did not look great when he was forced to take a rushed shot. He was able to knock down a wide open NBA 3-pointer, though, and is shooting a respectable 37% from this range on the year, albeit on a limited number of attempts. It seems like he’s improved this part of his game, at least to the point that it’s respectable.

Defensively, Green has great tools—terrific quickness, good size, big hands and solid length. He’s known as one of the better defenders in this league when he fully applies himself, which wasn’t always the case here at times. He gambled at times for steals and probably wasn’t physical enough denying his man space, but you could certainly see the potential here. On one occasion for example, he made a highlight reel caliber play moving laterally staying in front of his man, and then showing great timing exploding off his feet to block his shot. He definitely applied himself on the boards today, pulling down 10, mostly by putting his physical tools to good use out-quicking and out-jumping other players.

The D-Fenders gave Green a considerable amount of time at the point guard spot today, probably in order to showcase his versatility and improve his chances of seeing a callup. Indeed, Green did a solid job running the team, not looking like a pure point by any stretch, but definitely making some very nice passes that highlighted his solid court vision. He finished with 8 assists on the day, and did a particularly good job in transition.

Green has been known as a player who doesn’t always dominate his competition the way he should considering his talent. It’s not quite clear how much of a knock that is for the NBA level (where he’d be a role player), but he seems to be taking that to heart, and sometimes gets caught in situations where he over-dribbles a bit and forces the issue to a certain extent. From what we’ve seen in summer league and here, that doesn’t seem to be that big of an issue, but the perception is out there, so we thought we’d mention that.

All in all, Green looks like the best NBA prospect we’ve seen here so far in Boise. He reminds a bit of Anthony Parker, minus the same incredible feel for the game, and should definitely be one of the top candidates to see a callup in the coming weeks.