In one of his dunks in last Saturday's NBA Slam Dunk contest, Gerald Green blew out a birthday candle off of a cupcake sitting on the rim.
He may have gotten his birthday wish too.
According to Fox 26 in Houston, the Rockets have acquired the Houstonian from Minnesota for Kirk Snyder and a second round draft pick.
"It's like a dream come true. Never in my life did I think this would happen," said Green. "I am on cloud nine."
This is a minor move, but interesting. The 6-foot-8, 200-pound Green is a fresh 22 years old and has absolutely sick leaping ability, as his Slam Dunk contest win in 2007 and advancement to the Finals against Dwight Howard this season shows.
The Rockets also again send out more salary ($2.4 million for Snyder) than they take in (Green at roughly $1.4 million), similar to the Bobby Jackson deal.
Green has played sparingly this season, hitting just 33% of his shots, but he has the potential to be a good three-point shooter. Rockets GM Daryl Morey no doubt knows a lot about him given his time in Boston.
However, when a team like Minnesota -- a team that is completely rebuilding and seeking only young players -- does not pick up your contract option, that may be saying something.
I've spoken to a lot of people over the last month or so who are familiar with Green and while they think he's got very good potential, most seem to think he's just really far behind in the basketball IQ department. The Rockets will get a chance to find out.
