Should the Detroit Pistons take a chance on Jeff Green?

After being released by the Utah Jazz last week, Jeff Green has officially cleared waivers and is eligible to sign wherever he likes. Should the Detroit Pistons take a chance on him?

It came as somewhat of a shock when Jeff Green was waived, but Jazz executives elected to make an even bigger bench upgrade by trading for Jordan Clarkson. Although the Detroit Pistons are an unlikely landing spot for the veteran, would it be worth the trouble of freeing up a roster spot?

As it stands, the Pistons cannot outright sign Green. A spot would have to be freed up (reminiscent of the dilemma they were faced with just a few months ago with Joe Johnson and Christian Wood) so the question becomes – who would that be?

The issue is that nearly every team in the league is full in terms of both players and salary. Meaning that trading someone for – for example – a second round pick isn’t quite on the table right now. With the deadline soon approaching in January for players on non-guaranteed contracts to either be extended through the rest of the season or cut all together, there’s always a possibility that this could open up some availability for the aforementioned trade.

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So let’s just say in this hypothetical situation that Detroit is interested in Green. Why would they be? Because he’s a quality defender and has the ability to stretch the floor. He’s also a tremendous locker room presence, and the Pistons could use more veterans on the team.

Green could soften the blow of Detroit’s forward depth in Blake Griffin‘s absence.

Averaging 13.0 points and 4.4 rebounds per game in his career, Green has played a majority of his career as a first or second option coming off of the bench and is able to provide teams with a spark on either end of the floor. He’s played for eight different franchises, but that’s not a slight against his talent level. Green often finds himself in trade talks because he’s a valuable piece to any team, however it never meant he wasn’t expendable.

With the exception of the Utah Jazz – who again – waived him.

The likelihood of Detroit going after a player who would barely move the needle is slim. Not only that, but going through a financial limbo in order to pull it off likely isn’t going to be worth the time. However, if the option is ever there, Green would be a fantastic Piston.