The notion of a Draymond Green trade, essentially, became unthinkable back when the Warriors doled out a four-year, $100 million contract last summer to keep their 33-year-old big man in place. There was chatter that Green would look to sign elsewhere (the Lakers, specifically), and before that, there was talk that perhaps the Warriors would look to make a deal on Green.
But the chatter came to nothing because Green agreed to a contract with the Warriors on the first day that NBA free agency opened. If there was ever an opening for the two sides to part ways, it was there last summer. Neither took it.
Now, though, with Green suspended indefinitely after his second violent on-court incident within a month—first choking Minnesota center Rudy Gobert on November 15 and, on December 13, hurling a punch at Jusuf Nurkic—the topic of a Draymond Green trade has been bubbling up among the NBA’s observer class.
But the Warriors have given no indication they’re looking to move Green. Besides, around the league, there are scant few teams that have the wherewithal to make such a deal. In fact, as one NBA executive said, there is only one: the Lakers.
Draymond Green Trade Would Be a Big Warriors Undertaking
That is not to say the Lakers are looking for a Draymond Green trade, of course. A case could be made that his defensive mindset fits well there, and he would make for a solid enforcer next to Anthony Davis. But even with his career-best 42.9% 3-point shooting thus far this year, and with his 5.8 assists, Green is averaging 9.7 points, likely too much an offensive dead spot to fit with the Lakers.
But who else would have him?
“If you take all of the factors into consideration that you’re looking at in any kind of Draymond Green trade, there’s only so many teams that would have had the ability to take him on anyway, just in terms of the contract he has and his style of play. You can’t just drop Draymond Green into the Charlotte Hornets or even a good team like the Houston Rockets and expect it to work. You need the right pieces around him that accentuates what he does,” the exec told Heavy Sports.
The Warriors, of course, have those pieces, at least when they are at their best. The all-time great backcourt of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson certainly masks whatever deficiencies Green has. Not many rosters could.
Lakers Could ‘Handle What He’s Bringing’
And a potential Warriors trade with Green in the middle would go beyond the on-court fit. That’s why the Lakers might be the only workable option—again, not that the Warriors are looking. Yet.
“If you were to get him out of Golden State, there’s really only one team that could possibly trade for him. That’s the Lakers,” the executive said. “No one else could really handle what he’s bringing. LeBron James could. Draymond has been kissing up to LeBron for a couple of years now.
“It’s not just the on-court stuff and the fights and all of that. But the contract. The approach—there are not a lot of teams he would want to play for. All of that. Our team, our owner, we could not handle a Draymond Green trade. Most people would say that same thing. The Lakers could handle it, though. I doubt they want to. But they could.”
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Only 1 Team Could ‘Handle’ a Warriors Draymond Green Trade: NBA Exec