Are There Shades of Brown in Green?
By Mike Brilliant
Summer League games are as useless as pillows on a bull when it comes to gauging the future success of young players in the NBA. Even so, I came away with an uneasy feeling regarding Gerald Green’s recent mediocre showing in Las Vegas. Some showed optimism in pointing to Green’s poise and increased leadership in evidence, which are admittedly positives. Then again, it’s hard to lead teammates to anything but offensive rebounds when you shoot 29.8% from the field.
Over the course of his first two seasons, Green has certainly shown flashes of his NBA potential, often leading to some overzealous comparisons to two-time scoring champion Tracy McGrady. Unfortunately, Green’s superior athletic ability has also frequently served to mask his serious lack of fundamental basketball skills. It’s enough to make a fan worry. It’s perhaps even enough to draw comparisons away from McGrady and instead to another raw athletic specimen who had mad hops but a maddeningly low basketball IQ. Recall with a shudder Chris Wallace’s failed secret weapon Kedrick Brown. Ironically, both Brown and Green have worn #5 for the Celtics. Let’s run a few routine background checks on the two players to further examine whether such a comparison is legitimate.
Green was drafted 18th overall in 2005 out of Gulf Shores Academy in Texas. He was projected as high as 3rd by some mock drafts but ended up sliding faster than a wet Twinkie because of his refusal to work out for teams prior to the draft. The Celtics quickly realized that Green had plenty of raw talent but lacked the fundamentals of coming from a high profile high school or college program. In fact, he didn’t play much high school basketball at all. Gerald only began playing hoops in his sophomore year. His junior year was then cut short due to academic failures. It was during Green’s senior year that he transferred to Gulf Shores Academy and became a McDonald’s Academic All-American.
Kedrick Brown was drafted 11th overall in 2001 out of Okaloosa-Walton Community College in Florida. He was named a first team JUCO All-American as a sophomore yet remained as a relative unknown to many NBA General Managers. Not to Celtics GM Chris Wallace, however. One of Wallace’s old buddies ended up coaching Kedrick’s JUCO team and scheduled a private workout with the Celtics. From this workout, the Celtics gave Brown a promise that he would be selected no later then #11. I still recall watching the same two highlight reels from the 2001 draft. One showcased Kedrick forcefully slamming home an alley oop. The other showed him driving baseline. Brown’s elbows were over the rim while he tomahawk jammed. It was heady stuff, especially to people accustomed to watching lumbering guys like Dwayne Schintzius and Vitaly Potapenko (may you eternally rot in hell, Rick Pitino).
Although similar in background and athleticism, Green and Brown inhabited considerably different body types. Green is 6’8” and 200 lbs. To say he is slight of build is an understatement. His frame is well suited for a swingman role in the NBA. Although Brown’s height was a near-match at 6’7”, he weighed in at a far more imposing 225. In retrospect, Brown’s game and build were a perfect fit as a power forward on the JUCO level, where he was a monster at rebounding and scoring inside. But of course at 6’7” he was force-fit as a projected BIG swingman in the NBA, which has always been a reach.
Despite their different builds and strengths, Green and Brown both entered the NBA under the mold of shooting guard / small forward. Brown’s strengths were his athleticism and his ability to use his quickness and muscle to play defense. This is exactly what earned him time on the court for 29 games his rookie year and 51 games his second year. In fact, during that time, he was used a defensive stopper on some of the leagues best 2’s and 3’s. The memory that stands out for me the most was one of the Celtics’ highlight plays of the year in 2002. Giving up almost five inches, Brown went straight up with Tim Duncan and cleanly blocked his shot on January 12, 2002 in a 1 point loss to the Spurs. In retrospect, it was probably the highlight of Brown’s career.
Green’s strengths are in his athleticism, his superior release point and his shooting touch (although spotty) from long range. He played in 32 games his rookie year and 81 in his second year. His ability to score in startling bunches made him a valuable gunner off the bench this year. In fact, he averaged 10.4 points in 22 minutes a game. So why is he assumed to be included among the trade bait for the next Celtics veteran to come aboard?
This is where the Kedrick Brown comparisons come into play. Both players seem to clearly lack the fundamentals of the game. Is this a result of not playing for a major high school or college program? Are/were they just too young to learn on the job in the NBA?
Despite their obvious differences, Green and Brown seem to suffer from some of the same limitations. As swingmen in the NBA, both need/needed to be able to dribble and penetrate with their superb athleticism. Neither can or could do so. And why can’t Green or why couldn’t Brown hit a midrange jumper with reliable consistency? With their incredible jumping abilities, what guard or forward could block or even bother their shot? Is this the result of lack of hard work or how coachable they are at such a young age? Both players after their second year in the league still seemed to lack the general knowledge of the game. Too often, they looked more lost out on the floor than Dan Shaughnessy at a popularity contest.
We already know the fate of Kedrick Brown. He never got it. He never improved. And going into his 4th season, he gained 30 pounds and essentially ate himself out of the league. Will Gerald Green suffer the same fate? (By the way, I know Green can afford to put on a few pounds but let’s hold off on the ‘chocolate cake for breakfast’ jokes for now). The one advantage Green has is that he played on a losing and injury-ravaged team last year, which resulted in boatloads of unearned playing time (and 26 starts). Will this exposure translate into a stellar 3rd year? It’s always a possibility, although the Summer League didn’t offer much in the way of encouragement. One has to wonder then whether the Celtics have similar worries, considering their big off-season move resulted in a 7-time All-Star at Green’s spot. As the saying goes, ‘rent, don’t buy’, Gerald. And in the meantime, avoid those trans-fats.
