Sixers: Ranking every player on the roster after James Harden trade

Ranking every Sixers player — 6. Danny Green

Danny Green has seen his minutes slowly slip away this season. Once the undisputed fifth starter, Green is now firmly a second unit player — and maybe not even the main second unit player. We could see that change with Harden in the mix (the Sixers would benefit from another shooter in the starting five, in this writer’s opinion), but right now, Green’s career is fully on the downswing.

Even in a smaller role, Green provides quite a lot for the Sixers. He’s still an elite spot-up shooter (37.6 percent on 4.7 attempts from 3-point land) and a nifty defender, using his lightning-fast reflexes to intercept passing lanes and cause chaos off the ball. He doesn’t have the lateral quickness to provide much resistance on-ball these days, but he’s not a complete zero defensively like some of his more ardent detractors might claim.

The Sixers are essentially getting the same production from Green, only in fewer minutes (23.0 per game, as opposed to 28.0 per game last season). Green probably can’t physically handle a starter’s workload anymore, but with plenty of wing talent in the rotation, there are ways to match his minutes with Philadelphia’s starting five without running him into the ground.

We will see how Green’s role shifts with Harden in the rotation, but either way, his track record is pretty consistent. We know what Green is, even if he’s a little bit slower than he was in his prime. The Sixers can count on Green for productive minutes every night, it’s simply a matter of more precisely picking when those minutes are played.