If Nikola Jokic is making the rules, Jeff Green might be in for a rude surprise when he shows up at Ball Arena expecting his NBA championship ring Wednesday.
“He’s not getting it,” Jokic said with a sarcasm that would make Green proud. “… Yeah, he left us, so bye bye. No getting the ring.”
Jokic relented from his act a few seconds later, of course. How could the Nuggets not honor Green when he visits town for the first time as a Houston Rocket? The 37-year-old was part of Denver’s eight-man circle of trust during the 2023 playoffs and a vital cog whenever a team seeking its first championship needed uplifting. After losing Game 2 of the NBA Finals at home, Green invited the Nuggets to his house in Miami for a team dinner. It turned out to be their silent rallying cry. They didn’t lose another game.
Still tight-knit with his teammates of two years, Green stopped by the visiting locker room last Friday and chatted with Jokic after the Nuggets lost to the Rockets.
“I think it will be great,” Jokic eventually conceded when asked about having Green in Denver for a ring handoff. “Jeff was a big factor of our chemistry, of our culture, of our championship.”
The Nuggets (12-6) held their breath this offseason hoping they could keep Green, but he signed with Houston on July 1 for one year, $6 million, a contract Denver was in no position to offer while navigating the salary cap consequences of winning a title.
“It’s very hard (to leave), especially when you do what we did last year,” Green said last week in Houston. “You create a bond, and that’s something that’s forever. And the relationships that were built last year off the journey that we had, it’s tough to kind of deter away from that. But at the end of the day, it’s a business. At the end of the day, you have to make choices for yourself and for your family. And that’s what happened. But it’s no ill will toward anybody over there (with the Nuggets).
“As an older guy in this league, you understand the things that go into making a decision. But those relationships that I made last year will always be strong and always be kept close to my heart based on what we did. It was a special moment.”
Salary is invariably a significant aspect of the decision-making equation at this twilight stage of a journeyman’s career. With experience comes perspective about life after basketball, and the understanding that NBA contract opportunities are limited.
Green’s importance on a championship team helped boost his value as a free agent, and the Rockets were an obvious fit. He has been a welcome addition for a young core that previously lacked a certain guiding wisdom. They’ve started the season 8-6 with a pair of wins against Denver, including one to eliminate the Nuggets from the in-season tournament. Green is contributing 5.9 points and 2.5 rebounds off the bench.
“I wish Jeff was still wearing a Nuggets uniform,” Michael Malone said before the second of those losses. In the first, Green exploded for 13 fourth-quarter points in a close game.
“He had a huge impact on our team across the board: on the court, in the locker room. Tremendous leader, and the example he set every day as a veteran was just phenomenal. But this is the NBA, and change is inevitable. … It’s great to see him, yes, but I’m just hoping he doesn’t have a game like he had last time.”
Change has been especially inevitable for Green. The Nuggets were his 11th NBA franchise — 12th, if you count the Seattle Supersonics and Oklahoma City Thunder separately — and this is his second stint in Houston.
But he had never won a championship with the previous 10. Wednesday night will be his first ring. He had lost a playoff series with seven franchises before.
In retrospect, the veteran has a unique perspective on the experiences that made Denver different.
“There’s not one moment that sticks out,” Green said. “You embrace the whole journey. You don’t just rely on moments. The ups and downs that we had, something that created the team that we had toward the end that got us to win it. You embrace all the ups and downs. The losses. The hard times, the losing streaks that we had. Because that built the character for us to be stronger. I cherish the whole year.”
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