Dallas Mavericks have opened contract discussions with Josh Green, per Marc Stein

According to Marc Stein, the Dallas Mavericks have started contract talks with Josh Green. The 22-year-old forward is up for an extension, which would start at the beginning of the 2024-25 season. Green recently told ESPN that he hopes to re-sign with the Mavericks.

Drafted in the now very odd 2020 draft, the 6’5” 200 pound forward was primarily relegated to the bench during his first NBA season, where he played in just 39 games for under 12 minutes per game. After the departure of Rick Carlisle and the arrival of Jason Kidd, Dallas has seen Green slowly and steadily develop his game as he played a combined 137 games in the past two regular seasons.

His career numbers are a bit confusing due to that rookie season with just 5.8 points and 2.5 rebounds per game. But last season, Dallas fans saw real peaks, with Green shooting the long ball at a 40% clip and a growth in confidence attacking the rim.

An extension for Green makes sense for Dallas, depending on the price tag. Keith Smith of Spotrac guessed earlier this summer that Green could secure a four-year, $70 million extension when the Mavericks began talks. That comes out to an annual salary of $17.5 million, but it’s worth noting that most contracts start with a smaller number and have increases in salary each season. That’s more than what Grant Williams just secured with Dallas in the Celtics-Spurs-Mavericks three-team trade.

While the range in the extension might be too much for some Dallas fans that like to play fantasy general manager, it seems worthwhile for Dallas to secure him to a four-year deal now. However, the Mavericks could let Green reach restricted free agency and secure a deal from another team which they would then have the right to match.

Green’s never been a player I particularly favored (that’s being kind), but he’s managed to pull himself into being a solid rotation player. As he’s just 22, he seems exactly the kind of player an ascending team would take a low-risk gamble on, locking him in from 2024 to 2028, particularly with the expected rises in the NBA salary cap. I expect we’ll have clarity on the Green contract situation by training camp.