Spurs rivals missed a golden opportunity to steal Danny Green

There aren't many elite three-point shooters with top-notch perimeter defense skills under the age of 30 in the NBA. There are even fewer who are unrestricted NBA free agents. In fact, there is essentially just one: Danny Green. Given that shooting and perimeter defense are two of the most in-demand skills in the NBA, it's a bit remarkable that nobody could beat the Spurs' offer of four years and $45 million for him.

It's well established that Green is one of the league's best shooters. He has hit at least 41 percent of his threes in each of the last four seasons and has taken roughly five deep shots per game over the last three years. There are 54 players who have taken at least 1,000 threes over the past four seasons combined. Among them, Green (42.3 percent) is No. 4 in shooting percentage, behind Kyle Korver (46.7 percent), Stephen Curry (44.1 percent) and, uh, Jose Calderon (43.6 percent). Green's basic field-goal percentage (around 43 percent) looks weak, but 60 percent of his shots are threes. So, in the end he's super efficient, with a True Shooting percentage right around 60 percent.

He's also a darn good defender, though measuring that is more difficult and he hasn't been honored like a few of the other free agents. His teammate Kawhi Leonard rightfully won Defensive Player of the Year, but Green is nearly as important. For all the hay made of Leonard's incredible defense on LeBron James in the 2014 NBA Finals, don't forget that Green had his moments in both 2013 and 2014 on LeBron and Dywane Wade. Green received All-Defense team votes this season, and he's on a loaded squad where individual attention is spread thin. His notoriety would increase on a different team, and he's worthy of All-Defense inclusion (provided his current performance keeps up).

This isn't to say he comes without concern. He's thrived as an offensive role player in the mold of Korver. In other words, Green takes such a huge share of his shots from behind the arc because he isn't required to otherwise create. He can take defenders off the dribble, but that doesn't always end well. Like Korver, to be most effective on offense, Green needs passing and creation around him. Pair Green with a dribble-drive point guard like Tony Parker and passing bigs like Tim Duncan and Boris Diaw, and he'll thrive. Give him a shoot-first point and traditional lugs and he's not going to be nearly as efficient. There's also a concern that if he is required to do more offensively, his defense will suffer. (This is a common concern for most mortal two-way players.)

But here's the real reason Green is getting such little play in the rumor circuit: The damn Spurs! Even though San Antonio is chasing LaMarcus Aldridge and must pay Leonard a huge salary to keep him, everyone assumes the Spurs will find a way to keep Green. He's a vital cog, he's not a huge name and the Spurs have pretty incredible roster stability. Teams have been trying to lure away key Spurs for 15 years. It usually doesn't work. Whether GMs assume Green will take a discount to stay in San Antonio or that the Spurs will pay to keep him and waste suitors' time, the very presence of R.C. Buford and Gregg Popovich in the proceedings tamps down the intrigue. The Spurs just don't lose players they don't want to lose. (And if the Spurs are willing to let them go, do you really want them?)

This time could have been different, but wasn't because Green agreed to a new deal so quickly. The Spurs were navigating a very tight course in their pursuit of Aldridge, and there was an opportunity for a team in need of a hot-shooting defensive two-guard to swoop in and steal Green if he was willing to leave. (He took a meeting with the Pistons, so he was at least thinking about it.) Any team thirsting after Jimmy Butler, Arron Afflalo or Wesley Matthews should have been going hard after Green instead. The best fits in my book were the Knicks, Hornets, Pacers, Pistons, Bucks, Blazers, Mavericks and Kings. He'd be bloody brilliant on the Thunder if they could have afforded him, which they cannot. Of course, he's also a perfect fit on San Antonio.