Clippers Acquire Willie Green

The Clippers have acquired Willie Green from the Hawks in exchange for the draft rights to Sofoklis Schortsanitis, the team announced today in a press release. Green was a free agent, so the deal is a sign-and-trade, as the Hawks confirmed in their own release.

Since Green was coming off a minimum-salary deal and only had Non-Bird Rights, he couldn't have received much of a raise. Still, it's likely more than a minimum-salary deal, since the Clippers could have signed him outright if they intended to pay him the minimum. I would guess the Clips will use the traded player exception acquired in the Reggie Evans trade to absorb Green's salary. Green could sign for a first-year salary up to about $1.48MM, while the Evans trade exception is worth about $1.62MM.

Green, 31, adds a little more depth to a Clippers' backcourt that lost Randy Foye, but added Jamal Crawford and retained Chauncey Billups. Green posted a career-high 13.9 PER for the Hawks in 2011/12, averaging 7.6 PPG and career-best shooting percentages of .471/.442/.857 in 17.4 minutes per game.

For the Hawks, the move nets them a small trade exception (worth Green's 2012/13 salary) along with the rights to Schortsanitis. The Greek center seems unlikely to ever make the leap to the NBA, having been selected by the Clippers in the second round of the 2003 draft. Still, if the Hawks didn't intend to re-sign Green, at least they were able to acquire a small asset for him.

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