Barely an hour after the Orlando Magic announced the release of Jameer Nelson, they claimed another 32-year-old guard off waivers in Willie Green, who spent last season with the Los Angeles Clippers.
Green will turn 33 on July 28, so his experience of spending 11 years in the NBA could come in handy on a team with a possible starting backcourt of second-year pro Victor Oladipo and rookie Elfrid Payton. With the departures in less than a week of Nelson and Arron Afflalo, the only remaining players on their roster over the age of 25 were guard Ronnie Price and forward Jason Maxiell, both of whom were signed last summer and using sparingly.
Although Green has never averaged more than 12.4 points a game in his career, some of his top individual performances have come at the Magic's expense. He had games of 21 and 26 points against them with the Philadelphia 76ers in February 2008, and his 24 points with New Orleans three years later helped the Hornets defeat the Magic 99-93.
Green's first seven seasons were with the Sixers. From there, he spent one season each with the Hornets and the Atlanta Hawks and two with the Clippers.
The Clippers waived him Sunday. He played 55 games for them during the regular season but was hardly used at all in the playoffs against the Golden State Warriors and the Oklahoma City Thunder.
You can follow Ken Hornack on Twitter @HornackFSFla or email him at khornack32176@gmail.com.
