Getty Draymond Green is introduced before a preseason game between the Golden State Warriors and the Washington Wizards.
On the surface, ring night was as wondrous for the Golden State Warriors as the Bay Area faithful had hoped. All of the team’s key cogs — including Draymond Green — were there to receive their championship rings and revel in what they were able to accomplish together as a unit.
There was icing on the cake, too, in the form of a season-opening win over LeBron James, Anthony Davis and the La La Land crew.
Having said that, it’s really anyone’s guess whether any healing happened — as some believed it would — in the wake of Green betraying the trust of his teammates and the Warriors organization by assaulting Jordan Poole during practice earlier this month.
Word on the street is that Dubs brass is concerned about the potential for an intra-squad rift. And some have opined that the Warriors need to be proactive in protecting their locker room by making a preemptive move with the veteran. To that end, one analyst just revealed what he’s hearing through the grapevine about a possible trade.
Lowe Drops Truth Bomb on Green’s Immediate Future With the Warriors
During the Tuesday episode of his podcast, The Lowe Post, ESPN’s Zach Lowe sidebarred from his award predictions to give a take on Green’s standing with the Warriors this season.
According to his sources, the team has no plans to break things up, regardless of how people may feel about Green and/or the punch. Reported Lowe: “Everything I’ve heard is they are not trading Draymond — it’s just not going to happen.”
While Green continues to have an army of supporters, both inside and outside of the Bay, there’s definitely a contingent of people who think parting ways with the baller is the way to go. Just as there’s a vocal group that feels he should have been suspended for his actions.
According to Lowe and others, though, Golden State is going to maintain the status quo as long as it keeps the team in the title picture.
“They’re trying to win the championship and they’re just going to try to ride this out unless something drastic happens like the team just falls apart and they’re terrible,” Lowe added. “They’re trying to win.”
Draymond Did Draymond Things on Opening Night
Despite the fact that he had been away from the team for an extended period after the incident, returning for a single tune-up game before the regular season tipped off, Green more or less did the things fans know and love him for on the court versus the Lakers.
In 24 minutes of action, Green put up four points, five rebounds and five assists while logging a plus-12 in the plus/minus department.
Of course, the bigger thing to keep an eye on — not just in the early going, but throughout the campaign — is how Green and Poole mesh on the court. And while there were no overt signs of trouble in their 13 shared minutes against LA, the numbers weren’t particularly great.
When Green and Poole were on the court together on Tuesday, the team’s net rating shrunk all the way to 0.1; basically a wash with the Lakers.