We've come full circle it seems. The day that Jeff Green signed his contract it was widely panned as being a gross overpay. Over time he's performed well enough (though not consistent enough) to make the deal look more reasonable. He's not exactly a bargain at $9.2M a year, but he hasn't been seen an albatross either (Gerald Wallace took that title this year).

Yet here we are again talking about Jeff Green's contract being a hindrance. Not because he's locked in for too much, but because his contract is too short (or something like that). Steve Bulpett has this quote from a team executive about Green's value around the league.

Celtics values range wide | Boston Herald

“The only way you’re going to be assured of him playing for the 9.2 the following year is if he underachieves this season,” the executive said. “If you trade for him and he has a good year — the year you want him to have — (agent David) Falk’s going to take him to free agency next summer.”

There may still be a team out there that wants to add him on a "let's see what you can do" trial basis. But they aren't going to give the Celtics the value that they might want (say, a first rounder for example) for a rental. The exception might be if he's included in a larger deal to make salaries work.

Oddly enough, his contract makes him somewhat valuable to the Celtics at this point. If he has a good year (as the agent alluded to) then he's probably going to hit the open market, which would actually free up the Celtics with even more flexibility and cap room in Rajon Rondo's free agency summer.

Of course if he performs poorly or manages to get hurt somehow (note: he played all 82 games last year) then the Celtics are stuck with him for another year on the books. That's a risk.

The guess here is that Jeff Green will do Jeff Green things next year, regardless of which team he plays for. Some nights he'll be spectacular. Other nights translucent. I'd kind of like to see what he could do next to Rondo and Love for a full season, but if he has played his last game for the Celtics I wouldn't be surprised or altogether disappointed either.

It is rather odd that Green has become a bit of an afterthought this summer when so much attention has been put on him in the past. Still, it will be interesting to see if there's any traction for him in the trade market this offsesaon.