Getty Draymond Green #23 of the Golden State Warriors reacts after making a basket and getting fouled by Luguentz Dort #5 of the Oklahoma City Thunder.
With the Golden State Warriors enjoying their best stretch this season without Draymond Green and are about to face a roster crunch when he returns, The Ringer’s Bill Simmons has another trade proposal that could fix that.
Simmons’ suggestion is to flip the 33-year-old mercurial Green for draft assets from the Oklahoma City Thunder, who need a Chet Holmgren backup and a team enforcer.
Thunder receive: Draymond Green
Warriors receive: Davis Bertans, Ousmane Dieng/Aleksej Pokusevski, 2 first-round picks
“I still feel like the Draymond-Steph [Curry] connection and the stuff he does for Steph offensively is pretty special. But there might be other stuff that he’s done that we don’t even know about and [Golden State] just might be ready to move on. But I thought that’d be an interesting gamble for OKC to just say f— it,” Simmons said on the December 19 episode of his “The Bill Simmons” podcast.”
The Warriors are 5-2 since the NBA suspended Green indefinitely. The emergence of rookie big man Trayce Jackson-Davis has added another stress to Steve Kerr in their rapidly evolving roster crunch.
Warriors Have Tough Decision to Make
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, “there’s a general belief that his suspension will cover a range of 11 to 13 games — barring any setbacks.”
Based on that timeline, Green could make his return in mid-January, just a few weeks before the February 8 trade deadline. By then, the Warriors front office led by rookie GM Mike Dunleavy Jr. would have tough decisions to make to help Kerr manage a fixed rotation over their suddenly deep roster.
While Green and Gary Payton II (calf injury) are out, Jackson-Davis and rookie Brandin Podziemski have cracked Kerr’s rotation with their stellar plays. Andrew Wiggins’ return from a two-game absence has already shoved Moses Moody out of the rotation.
When Green and Payton II return to the lineup, who will Kerr remove in their current rotation that has strung up five straight wins before their Christmas Day loss?
Trading Green or making a consolidation trade might do the trick. But opting for a massive Green trade such as Simmons’ proposal will also save the Warriors big money in luxury tax penalty and could create more wiggle room to re-sign Klay Thompson in the offseason.
The big question, however, is will Curry approve a Green trade?
“That’s the thing,” Simmons said. “I don’t know. And I guess we’ll know in three weeks when Draymond comes back from wherever the hell he went.”
Draymond Green Undergoing Counseling, Virtual Meetings
Green is working closely with the NBA, NBPA and the Warriors toward his eventual return.
Wojnarowski reported that Green is undergoing periodic virtual meetings with the NBA, NBPA and the Warriors to chart his progress aside from undergoing counseling.
“These Zoom meetings are playing a role in how the NBA, National Basketball Players Association and the Warriors measure Green’s progress toward working through whatever issues might have contributed to repeated violent episodes with opponents and a former teammate, sources said,” Wojnarowski wrote.
Green served the seventh game of his indefinite suspension when the Warriors lost steam against the defending champion Denver Nuggets 120-114 on Christmas Day.
Despite Green’s absence, the Warriors kept in step with the Nuggets but Nikola Jokic’s 18 of 18 free throws and their “Splash Brothers” Curry and Thompson’s cold outside shooting did them in.
Jonathan Kuminga Complains About Inconsistent Role With Warriors
Third-year forward Jonathan Kuminga cracked the Warrior’s starting lineup during Green’s indefinite suspension. But despite his promotion, he is still agitated with his fluctuating playing time.
“Me with the ball,” Kuminga told The Athletic’s Marcus Thompson II, “Nobody’s guarding me.”
“But sometimes,” Kuminga added, “I’ve gotta take that away to make sure my OGs get the ball. That’s where it’s confusing. Sometimes, I come out of the game not knowing what I did. And that messes with my head. It’s like, ‘What do they want me to do?’ I can pass and I can do different s—.”
Andrew Wiggins, who was relegated to the Warriors’ second unit, still enjoys Kerr’s trust in his closing lineup over Kuminga.