Getty Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors.
The Golden State Warriors have failed to live up to expectations so far this year. Losing Gary Payton II, Otto Porter Jr., and Nemanja Bjelica was bound to hurt them, but few people predicted that they would be as bad as they currently are. They are 15-18 on the season, which places them in 11th place in the Western Conference.
And with Stephen Curry set to miss a few weeks due to a shoulder injury, they are in a very sticky situation. But they also have long-term issues to worry about. According to sources who spoke to Sean Deveney of Heavy Sports, there is a “pretty strong” chance that Draymond Green will leave Golden State next summer.
“Pretty strong,” a Western Conference executive said of Green’s chances to leave the Warriors. “If they win a championship again this year, there will be pressure to keep things together, but the stuff with the punch [on Jordan Poole] in the preseason, that probably put the nail in it. There was already a good chance he would go just because his production is not what it was and he is getting older [32]. It would be hard to justify paying him $20-something-million a year.”
Green has been a part of the Warriors for his entire career, winning four championships alongside Curry and Klay Thompson. However, there has always been an aura of drama following him, which the Warriors have had to deal with.
Despite that, he’s still putting up some solid numbers this season. The veteran forward has appeared in 29 of the team’s 33 games and is playing 30.6 minutes per contest. He’s averaging 8.2 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 6.6 assists per game on 53.6% shooting from the field and 31.3% shooting from behind the three-point line.
Lakers, Pistons Could Be Destinations for Draymond Green
While it’s hard to imagine Green playing in any other uniform other than a Warriors one, there would undoubtedly be some teams interested in him on the open market. Despite his occasional antics, he’s still a winning player who can help a team on both ends of the court.
Two teams mentioned by the executive who spoke with Deveney were the Los Angeles Lakers and the Detroit Pistons.
“Now, there is the question of, ‘okay, who does pay Draymond if he leaves?’ Will it be a team like the Lakers, and he has so many ties with Klutch and LeBron? Or would the Pistons bring him home? There is a small number of teams that would want him, and if does not get a good offer from them, maybe he goes back to the Warriors on a cheaper, short-term deal.”
Warriors ‘Changed’ Mind on Future With Draymond Green
Before this season, there was very little talk of Green ever leaving Golden State. However, after the incident with Poole and the extensions handed out to Poole and Andrew Wiggins, sources told Deveney that the team changed their mind in regard to Green’s future with the organization.
“Yeah, there has never been a sense that they were ready to move on from Draymond, but that has changed in the last couple of months,” the Western Conference executive told Deveney. “They gave out the extensions [to Poole and Wiggins], and that was a pretty clear sign like, OK, we’re not all in on Draymond from here out.”