After a down season in Miami, Gerald Green could become a free agent, paving the way for a reunion with the coach that helped him post career-high numbers.
The Miami Heat will reportedly move on from Gerald Green if it can find a better option as the team’s back-up small forward. Expect the New York Knicks to be among potential suitors for the cost-effective wing should he enter free agency.Green averaged only 8.9 points in 22.6 minutes per game in Miami last season, but he thrived in the two seasons prior under then Phoenix Suns coach Jeff Hornacek.
Hornacek is now head coach of the New York Knicks and noted while the team will search for ways to improve its point guard position, it also needs players capable of spacing the floor and shooting the three ball.
“It’s a good weapon to have, the way you space the floor,” Hornacek said on ESPN 98.7 FM’s Hahn & Humpty Show. “That can lead to a lot of reads.”
It goes without saying Green can finish at the rim. The journeyman’s high-flying rim attacks have traveled to each of the eight cities he’s played in.
But Green is also a career .361 three-point shooter, who posted career-highs in Phoenix. He averaged 15.8 points per game on .400 three-point shooting in the 2013-14 season, the same year Hornacek was runner-up to Gregg Popovich in coach of the year voting and Phoenix finished with a 48-34 record.
Green will likely command minimum or near-minimum contract money. New York needs to cut costs wherever it can.
Hornacek knows how to get the best out of his former stud. The Knicks should explore a reunion.
