Getty Danny Green, then of the Toronto Raptors, reacts after a basket against the Golden State Warriors.
One of the most respected veterans in the NBA, Danny Green brings a prototypical (and much needed) “3 and D” player to the Lakers. Expected to step into the starting lineup and serve as a floor-spacing weapon alongside Anthony Davis and LeBron James, Green should be relied on heavily throughout the season to play major minutes while guarding the opposing team’s best wing players.
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Lakers’ Danny Green ‘Excited’ to Play Alongside LeBron James & Anthony Davis
Coming off the best three-point shooting season of his career, Danny Green looks poised to potentially repeat his stellar 2018-19 campaign. While no longer sharing a court with Kawhi Leonard, Green cited the fact that the Lakers have numerous future Hall of Famers and specifically the duo of LeBron James and Anthony Davis as reasons for his optimism for the year.
Green functions best as a spot-up shooting weapon and while Kawhi does an excellent job of collapsing defenses and finding the open man, James is arguably the greatest drive and kick player the NBA has ever seen. Especially with defenses needing to account for Anthony Davis on the court at all times, Green should serve as an invaluable floor-spacing weapon and deep-range sniper for when defenses inevitably rotate off him to help on the Lakers’ superstar duo.
Aside from just their superstars, Green is also excited to share the court with talented players like Kyle Kuzma and Dwight Howard. While Kuzma is expected to have an extremely solid year after his strong showing for USA Basketball, Howard could potentially turn some heads on the back of a strong showing this season. The former elite big man looks to be in the best shape of his career while bringing a newfound humbled attitude off the bench.
Danny Green Ready to Step Into Different Leadership Role on Lakers
Compared to last season with the Raptors, Danny Green is no longer one of the only players with championship experience. Instead, LeBron James, Rajon Rondo, Quinn Cook, and JaVale McGee all have rings and can help to lighten the leadership role Green embraced in Toronto. While he still will be looked to as a strong veteran presence in the locker room, he won’t be as heavily relied on as he was in Toronto and can share the load with some of his other teammates.
Aside from championship-winning experience, the Lakers have a number of veterans with experience making deep runs in the playoffs. Jared Dudley, Dwight Howard, and Avery Bradley have all advanced to at least the conference finals at one point in their respective careers.
With so much experience on the Lakers, Green can focus a bit more on his on-court performance rather than working to hold the team together behind the scenes. Though it might be hard to improve on last season’s stellar 45.5% shooting from deep, Green seems to be in the right place to at least come relatively close to last year’s production.