Celtics, Jeff Green, agree to deal

This is no surprise:

The Celtics and Jeff Green have agreed to the framework of a deal, his agent, David Falk, told @CBSSports.

— Ken Berger (@KBergCBS) July 7, 2012

There have been some rumors that the deal is in the 4-year, $40 million range.  After some math, the Celtics can pay Green between $8.5 and $9 million this year and, after maximum 7.5% raises, have a deal that lands them in the $38-$42 million ballpark.

I’m sure news of what the contract is worth will come down shortly, but this fits right into where the Celtics want to be financially this year.  On the court, with all the size the Celtics have added, Green can focus on primarily playing one position.  And if his agent is to believed, the loss of a season is changing Green’s outlook on the game:

“He’s going to be better than ever because he sees things differently now. The one thing I think he was missing in his first four years was a sense of urgency and an assertiveness on the court. He was almost too unselfish. And now that basketball was almost taken away from him, I think he’s going to come back with a lot more fire in his belly

Let’s hope so, because we all know Jeff Green is a bit of a risk… and no, not because of his heart.  I feel like that problem has been fixed.  The risk is in whether the Celtics are going to give $40 million to the Jeff Green that showed up after the trade, or the Jeff Green that we all hope he can become. He’s an athletic forward on a team that desperately needs athletic forwards.  This is the type of player, theoretically, that the Celtics are looking for as they move forward into the Rajon Rondo “Big 3” era.

If Green plays the way he’s capable of playing this will be a good deal.  If he plays the way he played in his short time in Boston so far… well…