Free agent guard Willie Green remains optimistic that he can return to the Philadelphia 76ers this year after suffering a knee injury that cost him a $20 million contract.

"I'm feeling good," Green said after Tuesday's practice. "I'm about three weeks away from playing."

The 6-foot-2 guard was scheduled to sign a $20 million, six-year contract, but he injured his knee in a summer pickup game. While contract terms were reached, the deal was never signed.

In two seasons with the 76ers, Green averaged 7.3 points and 1.4 assists per game. He was drafted in the second round in 2003 by Seattle and acquired by Philadelphia in a draft-night trade.

"Today was my first real day of intense workouts, so I did pretty well and we're going to see how it looks tomorrow just doing some drills, but it felt good," Green said. "It felt good getting back out there."

While Green believes he can play in an NBA game in three weeks, team president Billy King wasn't as optimistic.

"He came in to see the doctors and they looked at him, and he's not there yet, so we'll just talk with his agent and see where we go from there," said King. "I think it's three weeks where he could go up and down, not three weeks where he could play in a game. I think he should have optimism, but it's something I'll talk to his agent about and we'll go from there."

Green said his agent and the Sixers were hopeful they can reach a deal for the rest of this season.

"I've been dedicated with the Sixers and I definitely want to be back with the team," he said.