Dallas Mavs Roundtable: The Futures Of Josh Green & Tyrell Terry

With NBA training camp about to begin, the DallasBasketball.com staff dishes on who will have the better sophomore season for the Dallas Mavericks between Josh Green or Tyrell Terry.

The Dallas Mavericks have a handful of questions that need to be answered throughout training camp and the opening act of the 2021-2022 NBA regular season. One of those questions involves Mavs' sophomores Josh Green or Tyrell Terry.

Between those two players, which one have the better second season for Dallas? What’s the short-term and long-term outlook for both Green and Terry? The DallasBasketball.com staff answers those questions in this week's roundtable discussion.

Matt Galatzan: My pick here has to be Green. He showed flashes of something solid last season, and even if he never reached the potential we thought he might have, he still has every chance to be a solid 'three and D' role player.

As for Terry, I have little faith of him becoming anything more than he has already been. Unless Terry proves otherwise, which is something he is more than capable of doing with the raw talent he possesses, he’s going to go down as a bust. And that’s hard for a second round pick to manage.

Dalton Trigg: As I wrote in Tyrell Terry’s training camp profile recently for DallasBasketball.com, I truly believe he’ll have some opportunities to crack Jason Kidd’s bench rotation, mainly because the Mavs have failed to address their need (and No. 1 stated offseason priority) for more secondary playmaking and ball-handling. That said, though, I think Josh Green will get some of those same opportunities as well early on in his second season, while ultimately earning more minutes because of his size, natural athleticism and defensive capabilities.

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Green’s rookie season was a rough one overall, especially when it comes to shooting the ball from deep (he shot 16 percent from three, but only shot a total of 25 threes on the year), but he occasionally showed us some really impressive flashes when it came to individual defensive plays, rebounding and even distributing the ball. For a team that currently rosters six big men, I don’t think it’ll be hard for Green to carve out a bench role for himself in the same fashion Dorian Finney-Smith did at the beginning of his NBA career with the Mavs.

Short-term and long-term, I think Green will end up contributing more than Terry will, but Terry’s potential is still high, regardless. There’s a reason he was dubbed as being a potential “steal of the draft” last year. Terry can ball. He just needs more experience and time in the weight room.

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Mike Fisher: Somewhere between “overhyping and loving our new kids” and “then they actually don’t ever play” is where I wish we could land on these kids.

Especially Josh Green.

Dallas drafted him knowing he wasn’t ready offensively. But what about his ability to play defense on a team to desperately needed? What about being an “energy guy” who could’ve helped a team that sometimes needed that, too?

Maybe Tyrell has a skill set that is a little more unusual and therefore I understand the vision of value there. And even if Green is a legit defender, Reggie Bullock and Dorian Finney-Smith might crowd him out of minutes.

But did he not play because it wasn’t coach Rick Carlisle‘s thing? Or because we were all deceived about the promise that we thought we saw?

If Josh Green is anything close to the latter … he’s my pick to help.

Nick Crain: This pair of sophomores will be fascinating to watch in the 2021-22 season. With a new regime at the helm, it will be interesting to see if prioritizing the development of young players like Green and Terry will be in play.

With that in mind, Green should have every opportunity to make a bigger splash in year two. After having a successful summer playing in the Tokyo Olympics with Australia, the dynamic forward is ready to impact winning games for the Mavericks this season.

Terry has all of the tools to become a spark plug bench scorer, but Dallas is extremely deep at the guard positions, although some of those guards don't necessarily help in the secondary distributor category. On a team that should be focusing on improving their defense this season, it may be more difficult for Terry to break into the rotation.

Green could be a more impactful player this season, but Terry ultimately does have the higher ceiling. If he’s able to add some weight to his frame and get stronger, he’s the type of player that can get a bucket from anywhere on the floor.

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Lance Roberson:  Josh Green and Tyrell Terry, although completely different players, shared the same miserable reality of Rick Carlisle's rookie dungeon. In fairness to Carlisle, the condensed schedule and COVID-infested season didn't allow much room for error. Ultimately, leaving Green walking on eggshells every time he touched the court. Terry, on the other hand, had personal issues during the season, which didn't help his situation.

Without fully delving into their player profiles, it's safe to project Green as the player with the better production, mainly using his physical build as proof. Touted as an athletic prospect coming into the draft, Green seldom showcased those physical gifts. However, in spotty minutes, there were bright moments where the rookie displayed pro-level abilities. Jason Kidd even spoke of his development at the Mavericks' new regime presser in the offseason.

Going by the film, Terry didn't provide much production or moments for that matter, in the regular season, but did show flashes of brilliance in the 2021 summer league. The small guard managed to finish with contact at the rim on a few sequences, which bodes well for the making of an NBA-level guard. I agree with Dalton, in that Terry will find minutes in Kidd's rotation, at least early in the season. Only time will tell if he's gained enough weight to withstand the physicality and athleticism of today's NBA point guard for a full campaign.

Ultimately, though, I believe Green will earn more minutes than Terry while reaching a new gear in the process.