Philadelphia 76ers: Is Jeff Green worth the risk?

A veteran forward just become available, but is adding him worth the risk for the Philadelphia 76ers and their long-term outlook.

In a somewhat uprising moving, the Utah Jazz have waived veteran combo forward Jeff Green in favor of a G-League prospect, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. With Green currently on the waiver wire and possibly becoming a free agent, should the Philadelphia 76ers consider bringing in the veteran?

It’s no secrete that the Sixers bench needs upgrades and Green has been an offensive spark as a reserve several times in his career for other teams. This past offseason, I wrote that Philly should target him as a free agent. He has career averages of 13.0 points and 4.4 rebounds, while making 44.0 percent of his field goals and 33.3 percent of his shots from the 3-point arc.

Sadly, he’s looked like a shell of his former self with the Jazz this year. In Utah, he averaged 7.8 points and 2.7 rebounds, while converting 38.5 percent of his shots from the floor and 32.7 percent of his 3-pointers.

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Considering he had a good season the year before with the Washington Wizards, these numbers are concerning. Was it just a bad fit with the Jazz or is his starting to decline at the age of 33-years-old?

A good portion of Green’s game is based on his athleticism, so if age is really the issue, then he won’t be able to help the 76ers enough for them take a flier on him. However, another thing to consider is that he was averaging a career low in minutes per game and that was impart due to the fact that he was buried on the depth chart behind Joe Ingles, Royce O’Neale and Bojan Bogdanovic. Getting inconsistent minutes could cause the drops in his numbers as well.

If Philly’s front office decide that getting out of Utah would help Green be productive again, then they could take a chance on Green. Taking a chance on Green would also mean that the Sixers would have to either waive or trade a player to make a roster spot available to the forward.

Trey Burke is the only one on the roster with a partially guaranteed contract, so he would be the ideal one to waive if they go that route. However, he’s been in-and-out of the rotation, so waiving him would hurt the point guard depth chart. Getting rid of Burke for Green wouldn’t be smart unless they had a plan to sign or trade for another point guard to replace Burke.

The 76ers could trade Jonah Bolden to make room for Green. Christopher Kline of The Sixer Sense wrote that Bolden doesn’t has a clear purpose for the franchise. Trading him for cash or draft assets could open up a spot on the 76ers roster.

However, is adding Green for one season worth giving up on the potential of Bolden? At this point, there’s a legit argument to be made that it could be based on the team’s title aspirations this season. However, that’s something that general manager Elton Brand and his staff will have to decide.

Green could provide an offensive spark and some defense for the Philadelphia 76ers bench unit. If he still has his athleticism, then he should be able to help the Sixers bench improve for a title run.