The Miami Heat are currently in first place in the Eastern Conference with their 12-6 record and have been playing well all season. The Heat did have a big distraction earlier in the season when Gerald Green was taken to the hospital mysteriously and then suspended two games for conduct detrimental to the team but he is back now. Green is playing a big role for the Heat right now with Luol Deng missing the last five games due to a hamstring injury but he is thinking about staying in Miami long-term, according to Jason Lieser of the Palm Beach Post.
Green took a pay cut this offseason to sign a one year contract for the league minimum with Miami so he is set to become a free agent at the end of this season. Green was brought in to provide scoring punch off the bench but hasn't been very good on offense this season. Instead his Heat teammates have been impressed with his effort and enthusiasm on the defensive end and he knows that's where he needs to play well if he is going to stay long-term.
"I'm trying to find a home, and can't Miami be my home? That's where my intentions are. So what is a Miami Heat requirement? To D-up. I know if I want to be here the rest of my career, forget offense. I gotta D-up. That's where my mind is at," said Green.
While his teammates have been impressed with Green's defense the metrics aren't quite as impressed. The 29 year old forward has been a below average defender his entire career and has been just that again this season so far. Green has been able to get away with playing poor defense in the past because he has been a plus player on offense but this season he has been a negative on that end too so far.
Green has bounced around in his NBA career as he is now playing for his seventh team in nine NBA seasons with D-League stints mixed in. After so much moving around Green understandably wants to find a place he can settle in and he is hoping that Miami is that place. Regardless of what the metrics say about Green's performance what matters more is what his teammates and coaching staff think about him and right now he is getting glowing reviews even after the incident earlier in the season. Green's free agency is still a long way away but it seems like the two sides may be able to figure something out so that Green doesn't have to play for another team.
