Free agent forward Javonte Green has found a new home that will keep him in the Eastern Conference for the 2025-26 season.
Green is expected to sign a one-year deal with the Detroit Pistons, ESPN's Shams Charania reported Monday morning.
Green, known best for his strong play on the defensive side of the basketball, most recently played for the Cleveland Cavaliers, the team with whom he signed as a free agent on February 23, 2025 — three days after agreeing to a contract buyout with the New Orleans Pelicans. Green appeared in 18 games with the Cavaliers, averaging 9.2 minutes played, 3.3 points and 2.2 rebounds per game.
The majority of Green's NBA career, though, has been spent with the Chicago Bulls. Green was acquired in a three-team trade on March 25, 2021, and went on to appear in 122 games (including 50 starts) with the team through the 2023-24 season. He saw his playing time peak during the 2022-23 campaign, during which he recorded career highs in starts (45), averaged 7.2 points per game and shot 54.2% from the floor.
Green, who was not selected in the 2025 NBA Draft for which he was eligible, started his professional basketball career overseas, playing for Marín Peixegalego (in Spain), Pallacanestro Trieste (Italy) and ratiopharm Ulm (Germany) before getting his first shot in the United States with the Boston Celtics in 2019.
Green will join a Pistons team that finished the 2024-25 season with the sixth-best record in the Eastern Conference (44-38), their best mark in nine years. The Pistons made the playoffs for the first time since 2018-19 but were defeated in a six-game first-round series against the New York Knicks.