In a December 25 Bleacher Report story, Dan Favale proposed multiple trades that would help out various NBA players and teams. One of the trades he proposed involved moving Chicago Bulls wing Javonte Green to the Denver Nuggets for Zeke Nnaji. Favale explained how the Nuggets would benefit from acquiring Green.
“Pivoting to Green (currently out with a knee injury) makes the Nuggets smaller. He’s only 6’4”. But he has the strength to tussle with larger wings and combo bigs and the recovery timing and speed to go up against quicker ball-handlers.
“Even Denver’s rim protection should be better with him in the fold. He provides on-ball deterrence and shouldn’t have any issue in the playmaking helper role when Nikola Jokic is guarding up at the level of the screen.”
Favale also brought up that the Nuggets’ rotation may be overcrowded if Green is added to a fully healthy Nuggets roster, but that may not matter since Michael Porter Jr. has yet to prove he can stay on the court.
“Granted, Denver’s rotation looks pretty crowded in the aftermath. Bruce Brown, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Aaron Gordon, and the emergence of Christian Braun could make the addition of Green seem like overkill. Eh. Green helps alleviate the conceptual logjam by holding up at the 4, and Michael Porter Jr. hasn’t remained healthy enough to guarantee Brown won’t need to remain in the starting five,” Favale said.
Celtics ‘Keeping an Eye’ on Javonte Green
An Eastern Conference executive told Heavy Sports’ Sean Deveney that the Boston Celtics, Green’s former team, are keeping their eye on Green amongst the Bulls’ struggles this season
“They lost Javonte Green because they had to give up Daniel Theis to get under the tax. I think they always regretted having to lose him. He is a perfect kind of role player for them—he can play a bunch of positions, he defends, he hustles, and he is cheap. They’re definitely keeping an eye on him,” the exec told Deveney.
The Celtics traded Green along with Theis to the Bulls at the 2021 NBA Trade Deadline. Green has a well-documented close friendship with Celtics star Jayson Tatum, who played with Green for a year and a half before the Celtics traded him to the Bulls.
While the Celtics are keeping an eye on the Bulls, there still is no confirmation that the Bulls will be sellers at the NBA Trade Deadline.
Green Included in Proposed Suns Trade
Heavy Sports’ Jack Simone proposed a trade that would send Green, among others, to the Phoenix Suns. The outline of Simone’s trade included the following.
Bulls receive: Deandre Ayton
Suns receive: Nikola Vucevic, Alex Caruso, Javonte Green, 2026 1st-Round Pick (Lottery Protected)
Simone explained what Green and Caruso could do for the Suns.
“Caruso’s two-way play could fill in the gaps at the guard position, and Green would give them another option at the forward position alongside Torrey Craig and Cameron Johnson (once healthy),” Simone said.
The Suns are currently 19-15, which places them fifth in the Western Conference standings. Despite the drama they had with re-signing Ayton during the offseason, there have been no reports saying that the Suns are willing to get rid of him. If they do, the Bulls have a solid offer for Ayton, knowing that the Suns want to win now, not later.
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Proposed Trade Sends $3.5 Million Bulls Wing to Western Conference Contender