Gerald Green Signs 10-Day Contract With New Jersey Nets

The New Jersey Nets have signed small forward Gerald Green to a 10-day contract from the L.A. D-Fenders, the Los Angeles Lakers' D-League affiliate, the team announced Monday. Green, a former first-round pick, was the MVP of the D-League All-Star Game and averaged 19.1 points and 4.6 rebounds in the first half of the season for the D-Fenders.

The D-League's premier writer, Scott Schroeder of Ridiculous Upside, wrote this in early February while campaigning for Green to be called up to play his first NBA game since the '09-'10 season, and Schroeder was spot on:

It couldn't have been easy to decide to try and change the perception of his being a freak athlete with no discernible basketball IQ to speak of while swallowing his pride and joining the Eric Musselman-coached D-Fenders, but it seems there might be a happy ending in the not-so-distant future.

The NBA was able to begin offering 10-day contracts on Monday and, as if on cue, Green busted out the big guns in the D-Fenders game that evening. The NBA veteran hit eight of his 11 shots from beyond the three-point arc en route to 35 points and seven rebounds in Los Angeles' victory over the visiting Erie BayHawks.

In four NBA seasons, Green has appeared in 181 games with averages of 7.5 points and 2.0 rebounds per game. The Nets desperately need a small forward after losing Damion James and Shawne Williams to foot surgeries this month, so Green will get a chance to prove he deserves a guaranteed contract.

For more news about the Nets, visit NetsDaily.