Josh Green thoroughly enjoyed his time with Mavericks

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Before playing against the Dallas Mavericks on Monday afternoon for the first time in his NBA career, Josh Green reflected on how much fun he had playing for the Mavs over the previous four seasons.

“It was amazing to play for the Mavericks,” Green told Mavs.com. “It’s the first place I kind of grew up since Sydney (Australia).

“To be able to play there and be in the (NBA) Finals (last season), I’ll never forget that. Dallas will always have a special place in my heart.”

The Mavs chose Green with the 18^th overall pick in the 2020 draft. And he played a key role on the Mavs reaching last season’s NBA Finals, particularly with his heady play on the defensive end of the floor.

Guard Kyrie Irving said “it was awkward” playing against Green for the first time on Monday during the Mavs-Hornets game, which Charlotte won, 110-105.

“Especially when he made that last defensive rebound,” Irving said while smiling. “That is a Josh Green play all the way through.

“It gets the fans going on. (He was) pressuring me a little bit and getting into my skin a little bit. He was having fun competing. You know what you’re going to get out of him.”

Green only scored four points Monday on 1-of-6 shots. But after Klay Thompson missed a game-tying three-pointer with 3.1 seconds left, Green grabbed the defensive rebound, was fouled by Maxi Kleber, then sealed the game with a pair of free throws with 1.2 seconds remaining.

“Josh, number one, the person has been an amazing addition to our team, to our culture, to our environment,” Hornets coach Charles Lee said. “He’s about all the right things. He’s been a great mentor.

“We’ve gone to dinner with a couple of the young guys before and he’s able to speak on all of the past experiences that he’s had to go through. Hearing his story about having to leave Australia at a young age and figuring it out and becoming a man pretty early with all the different situations he’s had from high school being in Florida, and college in Arizona being away from (his) family (is amazing).

“He just shows night in and night out what he’s about on the court in terms of every hustle play you can imagine, he makes. You watch our transition defense yesterday, he gets a couple of chase behind back taps that sometimes ends up out of bounds and kind of stops the other team’s flow. And then every now and then it turns into a turnover for us or a steal, and then he gets a dunk on the other end.”

The Mavs traded Green in a six-team deal July 6. It was a day he won’t soon forget.

“I was definitely shocked, but it is what it is and you kind of have to move forward from it,” Green said. “The thing that was tough was being in Australia and seeing that. It was just weird that losing in the Finals the week before and then having to wake up to that.

“But at the end of the day this is a new opportunity, and I just had to kind of switch my mindset and make sure I was ready for Charlotte.”

Green is averaging seven points and 2.9 rebounds this season for the Hornets. Irving, meanwhile, recalls all the good things he did for the Mavs while being a consistent member of coach Jason Kidd’s rotation

“I definitely miss him,” Irving said. “He added a lot of value to our team last year and was a huge part of our success as we made it to the Finals.

“I wish him nothing but the best. Hopefully, I’ll get to see him on the Aussie (national) team.”

Lee likes the way Green has become a defensive juggernaut on his team with the ability to guard the opponent’s best perimeter player. Meanwhile, Green noted one of his fondest memories of playing with the Mavs was “from being drafted during the Covid year and being able to battle through that.

“Obviously, the relationships I was able to make with my teammates, coaches and the city in general (are great memories). Obviously, the Finals is probably one of the best memories and is something that I still think about daily.”

WASHINGTON BACK IN CHARLOTTE: Mavs forward P. J. Washington fared much better in Monday’s game against the Charlotte Hornets than he did when he played against them last season for the first time in his NBA career.

During the Mavs’ game in Charlotte last season, Washington scored one point, collected seven rebounds and was 0-of-7 from the field, including 0-of-6 from behind the three-point line. On Monday, Washington tallied 13 points, grabbed nine rebounds and was 5-of-15 from the floor.

Before Monday’s game, Washington was signing autographs and taking photos with the Hornets’ fans. After all, Charlotte made him the No. 12 overall pick of the 2019 draft and he spent his entire career with the Hornets until they traded him to the Mavs last February.

“I’m obviously feeling comfortable coming back to Charlotte,” Washington told Mavs.com. “It means the world to me. I’ve spent a lot of time here, and it feels great to see the community.

“I’m a lot more calm, I see a lot more familiar faces and it’s just a lot more love. I’m super excited and there’s no more jitters.”

BRIEFLY: The Mavs, unfortunately, just keep on getting bitten by the injury bug. On Monday, Mavs guard Quentin Grimes added his name to a list no one wants to be on when he developed back spasms prior to the game. The Mavs were already without Luka Dončić (left calf strain), Dereck Lively II (right ankle sprain), Jaden Hardy (right ankle sprain), Dwight Powell (right hip strain) and Dante Exum (right wrist surgery) . . . Monday was the last day for fans to vote on the All-Star game starters. When asked if he thinks he’s done enough this season to make this year’s All-Star game, guard Kyrie Irving said: “I’m an All-Star regardless in this league whether I’m voted or not. I definitely feel like I’ve put my best foot forward this season. If that’s honored by the guys voting for me, or the fans or the media, I’m appreciative. We beat some good teams, and we had a good start to the season. It’s just unfortunate where we are with injuries. I’m happy that I get an opportunity to be out there and play some of my best basketball I’ve played in a few years, and I feel like I’ve gotten better since last year and I feel like I’m leading my team in a great way, and they’re helping me out. I wouldn’t be here without them.” Irving is averaging 23.9 ppg,, 4.6 rpg and 4.8 apg, and shooting 48.1 percent from the field and 43.2 percent from three-point land . . . Hornets guard Miles Bridges received a technical foul in an unusual way. Bridges went to the free throw line to attempt two free throws with 8:06 remaining in the first half. After he attempted his first one and while he had the ball in his hands preparing to attempt his second free throw, referee Marc Davis slapped Bridges with a technical foul . . . The Mavs played the Hornets on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Here’s guard Kyrie Irving’s take on this iconic day. “I’m a human being first,” Irving said. “At times I identify as an artist and a hooper or basketball player, but I wouldn’t be able to do that without the predecessors or some of my ancestors that came before me to set that precedent and set that great example before me. Not just on the court, but off the court. Just making sure that I understood that, yeah, we appreciate the basketball game, yeah, we have a great fan base. There’s great teams in our league, but there are so many people that support you and love you for what you do off the court, and I think that has to be developed, too. On MLK Day as we head into, quote unquote, Black History Month, I feel like at this point the world is more understanding of some of those backwards kind of compliments that we’ve gotten as a community, or as a Black community, or a Negro community or however people like to describe us. But we’re still standing, and I think that’s the beautiful part. Just tell them don’t give up and don’t put your head down when you feel like someone’s coming at you or calling you out of character. It’s good to make eye contact with them and make sure they know that you’re not coming with violence initially, no matter what you say in front of me, and I’m standing strong, and that’s what it’s about. I’m setting an example for the next generation. As racially motivated and divided as our world can be, I feel like there are a lot of great humans out here that see beyond that and want to treat people with respect and utilize this vehicle of basketball to connect with others. I’m just paying my dues and making sure I’m paying homage to all those that came before me and challenging the system to be better and are challenging human beings to be better.”

X: @DwainPrice