Willie Green Was Traded from the Hawks to the Clippers

In exchange for the draft rights to a fella by the name of Sofoklis Schortsanitis — who recently inked a three-year deal with a Greek ballclub — the LA Clippers acquired Willie Green from the Atlanta Hawks. The LA Times has more: “Green, a nine-year veteran who was a free agent, will get a one-year deal for the veteran minimum of $1.2 million. Green, 31, who averaged 9.1 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.5 assists over his career, played the 2010-11 season with Chris Paul with the New Orleans Hornets. The 6-foot-3 Green can play point and shooting guard; he averaged 7.6 points in 17.4 minutes per game last season in Atlanta. He could play a significant role for the Clippers if guard Chauncey Billups is not able to start the season while he recovers from surgery on his left Achilles’ tendon. Green could be the backup behind shooting guard Jamal Crawford or the starter if Coach Vinny Del Negro prefers that Crawford maintain his typical role as the sixth man. With the addition of Green, the Clippers have six guards, including Eric Bledsoe and Travis Leslie. [...] The Clippers drafted the 6-9, 345-pound Schortsanitis in the second round (34th) in 2003, but he never played for them. Schortsanitis, a center nicknamed ‘Baby Shaq’ after Shaquille O’Neal, played for Maccabi Tel Aviv in Israel last season and just signed a three-year deal to play for Panathinakios Athens in Greece.”