5 free agent wings the Pacers should avoid

Jeff Green

Do I really need a slide here? Could I just call up the Celtics and have them tell you why Jeff Green is a bad idea? How about the Grizzlies? The Clippers? The Magic? Green won’t stop until he’s swindled every team in the league out of $10-15 million, and more power to him.

Pacers, please don’t fall for it. He’s bad.

Green is another one of these veterans who comes in and is supposed to improve things but somehow makes absolutely zero impact on winning. He might be great as a stealth tank option, and I’m not necessarily ready to rule him out on those grounds, but that doesn’t seem to be Kevin Pritchard’s goal, point Lance aside.

Green hasn’t shot an above-average percentage from 3-point range since the 2012-2013 season, despite taking over a third of his shot attempts from deep last year. He registered a -4.6 box plus-minus last season, and while that stat is certainly flawed, it’s accurate enough to tell a team that Jeff Green isn’t worth it.

I should say, most of these claims should come with the qualifier “if their price is what I expect them to be.” I have no problem with the Pacers signing Rudy Gay to a really cheap deal. I just don’t think he’ll do that. I do have a problem with the Pacers signing Jeff Green to any deal, though, and I won’t apologize for that.