An update on Green’s free agency as veteran wing weighs decision originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Entering this offseason, Danny Green was the Sixers‘ highest-caliber unrestricted free agent.
As of early Tuesday afternoon, Green and the team were “nowhere close to a deal,” Harrison Sanford, Green’s co-host on the Inside the Green Room podcast, reported. Sanford named the Bucks, Celtics, Bulls and Pelicans as among the teams that had reached out to Green.
Free agency is often fluid and unpredictable, so Sanford’s reporting does not necessarily indicate Green and the Sixers won’t come to terms. Still, it’s a notable development.
The Sixers have Green’s Early Bird Rights, meaning they can offer him up to 175 percent of his approximately $15.4 million salary last season. At least from a financial standpoint, the team is well-positioned to re-sign him. Green’s next destination is ultimately in his hands, though, and money isn’t the only factor on his mind.
Green, who turned 34 years old in June, started 69 of the Sixers’ 72 games. He averaged 9.5 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.3 steals, shooting 40.5 percent from three-point range on a career-high 6.3 attempts per game. The right calf strain he suffered in Game 3 of the Sixers’ second-round series against the Hawks was impactful as the team lost three of the ensuing four games with Furkan Korkmaz in the starting lineup.
Korkmaz and the Sixers agreed to a three-year, $15 million contract Monday night, although the Sixers could seemingly always use more shooting around Joel Embiid. Green was valuable in that department, as well as through his perimeter defense.
In Green, Ben Simmons and Matisse Thybulle, the Sixers had three of the NBA’s top 13 players in total steals.