Former Cavaliers wing Danny Green retires

After 15 seasons, two of which were with the Cavaliers, Danny Green announced he is leaving the NBA.

Danny Green is calling it quits. He announced this via his Podcast on Thursday: “I’m officially moving on from the game of basketball, the NBA. It’s been a great run.”

Green was drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round back in 2009. Throughout his long 15-year career, only two seasons (2009 and 2023) surmounting only 28 games played in the wine and gold.

Green spent the majority of his career with the San Antonio Spurs (8 seasons). Green was then traded in the blockbuster Kawhi Leonard deal in 2019. From then on he was more of a hired gun for title-contending teams looking for quality veterans with championship experience. Green is a three-time NBA champion winning in 2014 (Spurs), 2019 (Raptors), and 2020 (Lakers).

While Green made meaningful contributions on multiple rosters it appeared that for the past few seasons, his body was not the same. After tearing his ACL and LCL during the 2022 postseason it appeared that the wheels had fully fallen off. Green never got a significant shot at playing time since having only played 13 games averaging 11 minutes in those appearances.

The Cavaliers were a part of those back-end years when they brought him in off the buyout market during 2023. It ended up becoming more of a distraction for the team as Green didn’t get a lot of runs and false promises were made according to Green. Green proclaimed afterward that “he was left in a weird space” in his second stint with the Cavaliers.

Green is now a voice in the media, having his podcast (Inside the Green Room) and occasional appearances on ESPN. It appears that this is the career path in a post-playing world for Green. “I’m excited for the next chapter, the next journey,” Green said.