Dallas Mavericks: What is the ceiling for Josh Green? Can he reach it?

The Dallas Mavericks drafted Josh Green with the 18th overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. Coming out of Arizona, Green was labeled as an extremely gifted athletic wing who played stellar defense and guarded multiple positions. The only real knock on him coming into the draft was his ability to shoot the basketball.

The 20-year-old averaged just 2.6 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 0.7 assists per game in his rookie season, while shooting an unimpressive 16.0 percent from beyond the arc. Coming off a year where he played only 445 minutes total, it is hard to put stock into any of his numbers.

However, this does not stop newly appointed head coach Jason Kidd from being extremely excited to develop Josh Green. He mentioned the Mavericks rookie twice during his introductory press conference. Unfortunately, Kidd will have to wait to get that opportunity as the 6’6 wing is currently with his Australian National Team and will be playing in the Olympics later this month.

What is the ceiling for Dallas Mavericks wing Josh Green?

Josh Green has a fantastic attitude. He loves to hustle and play hard-nosed defense. So what can we expect from Green if he does indeed improve his shooting abilities?

The comparison that comes to mind is Robert Covington. The 6’7 wing had the same start as Green. He was also not asked to do much of anything as a rookie. When Covington was eventually given chances in his second season, he never looked back. RoCo has become one of the best 3-and-D players in the league. Mavs fans would be ecstatic to get anything similar to Robert Covington-type of production out of Josh Green.

To reach the status of a Covington type of player, Green has a lot of developing to do on both ends of the court. His jumper figures to be the number one focus this summer. If there is a person that can get Josh Green to unlock those abilities, it is new Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd.