LAS VEGAS -- There was plenty of time for Gerald Green’s new reality to sink in. 

It began with the flight from Houston, which made stops in Washington D.C. and Moscow before finally reaching Krasnodar.

Then there were the long bus rides, where it eventually all hit him. 

“I went from being inside the green room, almost a lottery pick, to now I’m in Russia,” he told WEEI.com. “It was a shock to me.”

Looking back, it’s easy for Green to understand what he should have done differently to avoid that moment. But he can't live in the past. Five years after being in the green room on Draft Night, he is on the Lakers Summer League team trying to fight his way back into the league he has never doubted he could return to.

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Green was young. It’s not an excuse, just the reality of the situation. Drafted out of high school by the Celtics with the 18th pick in 2005, he was a teenager living in an adult world. 

“I don’t regret any of the decisions I made prior to being in the league,” he said of skipping college. “I think that I regret my decisions after I got drafted.”

Green was highly touted out of Gulf Shores Academy and became one of the hot new faces on the Celtics. His dunking abilities catapulted him into the spotlight before he was even 20. 

But flashy skills weren’t always enough to keep him on the court. Green appeared in just 32 games his rookie year, averaging 5.2 points in less than 12 minutes. The following season he played in 81 games, including 26 starts, and posted more than 10 points in 22 minutes. While he saw increased minutes, but he didn’t always see the bigger picture. 

“I would have to say those years, I was taking everything for granted. I was just thinking, ‘It’s just going to happen’ instead of making it happen and applying myself to make it happen,” he said. “I would’ve been more of a student of the game instead of just trying to use my scoring ability. I had a great coach in Doc (Rivers) that I should have listened to him more. I was listening, but it just wasn’t clicking. I regret those things and I think that comes with being immature, not applying myself.”

Two years after he was drafted by the Celtics, he was traded to the Timberwolves in the Kevin Garnett mega-deal. He played in just 29 games for the T-Wolves before being dealt to the Rockets. Less than a month later, he was waived. 

Green landed a contract with the Mavericks in 2008 and hoped to establish himself in his home state. It didn’t happen. Last offseason, Green was searching for a new team. But instead of participating in Summer League basketball, he stayed at home as he changed agents. 

“I was just in a tough situation in the offseason,” he said. ““I didn’t go to anybody’s training camp, which was the worst mistake of my life, I think.”

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Without a place in the NBA, Green received offers to play in China, Italy, and Russia. The level of competition and pay was better in Russia, and soon the former Slam Dunk Champion was on his way overseas to play for BC Lokomotiv.

In a matter of months, he went from private jets and posh hotel rooms at the Four Seasons to team buses and roommates. Mix in the language barrier and Green faced a “crazy” transition. 

But the fact is, he did transition. And with that transition came growth and maturity that Green had never experienced in the NBA. Being away from the game made him understand how quickly his spot in the league can be given to someone else. He also realized basketball was still basketball, no matter where he was playing it. 

“Me going overseas, that right there was the worst I think I ever felt. I never would have thought that I ever would have been overseas,” he said. “But going to Russia has humbled me and made me become a man, instead of a little boy that I used to be. … I think I’ve actually grown up from it, and I think that’s what I needed. I needed to grow up.”

Following his stint in Russia, Green received an invitation to play for the Lakers Summer League team. This time, he wasn’t going to pass up any opportunities that came his way. (In spite of his new uniform, Green has no ill-will toward his former team -- “I love the Celtics,” he said.)

He accepted the invite from the Lakers and traveled to Las Vegas with a different mindset. Always determined to shake the label of being “just a dunker,” he is focusing more on the team aspect of the game. 

“I think I want to be a better all-around player, fundamentally, ball-handling, skills, passing,” he said. “I think those are the things I want to improve on because, for instance, if things went well and I do stay with LA or anybody, I want to be able to be a good passer because I think sometimes my scoring ability may be to get other people open. But I have to be able to make other players better. I think I do have the ability to do that, I think I just have to work on it.”

He added, “I’m just trying to get back in the swing of things. I’m trying to be in the league next year, so I’m just trying to do everything possible to do the right things and stick somewhere.”

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Green returned from Russia nearly two months ago. He left the long flights, bus rides, and shared living quarters behind, but took a new outlook back home with him. It took less than one year overseas for Green to gain perspective on everything that had happened the previous five. 

“I’m still 24, I still have a lot of time to go,” he said. “You’ve got to start some time, and I’m just trying to start now.”