NBA sharpshooter Danny Green recently talked to Gilbert Arenas and Josiah Johnson about his early years with the Cleveland Cavaliers and San Antonio Spurs.
(via No Chill with Gilbert Arenas | Fubo Sports):
Johnson: “Rookie season, who were the guys that showed you what it means to be a pro?”
Green: “Crazy enough, Delonte West was one. Not to be a pro, but he showed me a lot of the ropes of what to do and what not to do. I learned a lot of what not to do by following Delonte.”
Johnson: “Just from seeing the stuff that he would do?”
Green: “Yeah. But even though he would do crazy things, he would tell you, ‘Rook, you shouldn’t do this.’ But I had Anthony Parker, who was a pro, an ultimate pro. I had Mo Williams, Daniel Gibson, Jamario Moon. We had a bunch of guys. Obviously Bron & Shaq, they’re the stars, but you probably connect more with the guys that are the role players because I had to figure out how to be how you guys are. I didn’t really learn how to be a pro-pro until I got to San Antonio because I learned how to be a pro there, but there’s a lot of clowning around, a lot of Bron & Shaq big a** kids had a lot of fun and obviously kicking everybody’s a** because they’re so much better than everybody.
“San Antonio was business. Watching Timmy [Duncan], Tony [Parker], Manu [Ginobili], just how they conduct themselves on a day to day basis. I was there for four days before they cut me, and realizing why is because the lack of urgency, had weird things about being too cool. Not even just on the court, and it’s like, ‘Yo, you need to take this job serious.’ So the second time around, I made sure that I was ready and that on and off the court I was on my P’s & Q’s. So just watching Manu, Tony, and Timmy. And then obviously playing for Pop, you have no choice but to be a professional. If you’re not, you’re gonna be somewhere else.”
