Former Mavericks wing is falling apart with no signs of recovery

Former Dallas Mavericks wing Josh Green was traded to the Charlotte Hornets as part of the Klay Thompson sign-and-trade in the summer of 2024, and fans worried that the Mavs gave up on him too early. Despite this, his spot on the Hornets is in deep jeopardy for the future, especially with the young pieces of Kon Knueppel, LaMelo Ball, and Brandon Miller standing out.

Green was mostly used as a bench piece for the Mavericks, and his career-high in points in a game is just 29. He only scored 20 or more points in 10 games as a Maverick, and fans' faith in him heightened during his third season. He averaged 9.1 points and shot just over 40 percent from deep that year, and he looked like someone who would be a stable role player for years to come.

Now, in his second season with Charlotte, Green is averaging just over four points per game while playing just under 16 minutes a game. His role has diminished significantly, and he hasn't started a game yet this season after starting in 129 games over his first five seasons in the NBA.

Josh Green went from rotation piece to afterthought

It's not all of Green's fault, though. The Hornets have a great thing going with some young pieces and are surprisingly beginning to win some games. Unfortunately, Green happens to be in the middle of that, and it may result in him getting exlied to another team via a trade or free agency sooner rather than later. Green also struggled early on with Charlotte last year, his first year with the team, showing that his fate as a Hornet was never destined to be a masterpiece.

Knueppel's instant rookie rise has been felt throughout the NBA, as he's a clear second favorite for NBA Rookie of the Year behind his Duke buddy, Cooper Flagg. Brandon Miller has been a young favorite for the last two seasons. Sion James has been more involved than some may have initially thought, averaging just over six points a game with just over 25 minutes a game as a rookie.

You can never have too many 3-and-D guys in today's NBA. After the NBA Finals loss to the Boston Celtics in 2024, the Mavs needed to make a change. Sadly, Green was one of the ones who had to go. Quentin Grimes was the unofficial replacement, and fans loved Grimes before he was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers unnecessarily by Nico Harrison, who had just traded Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers a few days earlier.

Respectively, Grimes looked more confident on offense and energetic on defense than Green ever did. It was the exact change that Harrison made, and now, the Mavs don't have Green nor Grimes. Green hasn't started in a game all season long for the Hornets, and being on the end of the bench for a team like the Hornets is telling for what his future looks like. Green's future is definitely uncertain, but the Hornets have something good going without him anyway.

The Hornets and Charles Lee have made it clear in which direction they want to go. Give Lee credit. The Hornets may not be going anywhere this year, but they're a very exciting team to watch with nothing but a bright, bright future ahead. The Hornets are still near the bottom of the Eastern Conference, but they beat the Los Angeles Lakers, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Denver Nuggets all within the last few weeks.

Charlotte has a strong core in place, and sadly for Green, it doesn't look like he is going to be part of that.

Even if Harrison is still enemy No. 1 in the city of Dallas, getting rid of Green was the right move. The Mavs needed some different personnel for shooting and defense, and Green's confidence was always an issue. It may not be long until Green is moved out of Charlotte, and if he can't make it there, it's uncertain if he can make it anywhere.