Trade Destinations If The Warriors Decide To Deal Draymond Green

The video of Green punching Jordan Poole may mean it's time for a change in Golden State

Once again, a dispatch from the skies as a successful trip to Las Vegas comes to a close. We had a blast covering the Lakers’ two preseason games against the Suns and Wolves, and despite losing both, there are some exciting things brewing for LA. 

We’ve got a lot to get into with Draymond Green going off the deep end on Jordan Poole and video of the altercation being leaked to TMZ, including some potential trade destinations should Golden State decide to go that route. 

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On to Draymond….

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The situation in Golden State with Draymond Green and Jordan Poole is a difficult one that puts the Warriors in a tricky position. We heard from Shams Charania earlier in the week that there was an altercation between the two at practice and that the Warriors were dealing with the situation, but footage of the incident has been leaked to TMZ and distributed. 

By now, I’m sure you’ve seen it. Green gets in Poole’s face, Poole pushes Green away, and Draymond throws a punch as he closes the distance and knocks Poole to the ground and against the practice facility wall. Players and coaches step in to separate the two.

It’s hard to know exactly what will happen here. Teams typically handle situations like this in-house, and we have seen suspensions handed down before. Bobby Portis was suspended for 8 games by the Bulls for punching teammate Nikola Mirotic, with the context that Mirotic was severely injured as a result of the punch. 

On Saturday, Green addressed the media and shared that he has apologized to Poole, Poole’s family, his teammates, and his own family. He also announced that he would be away from the team for some time to work on himself.

Rebuilding trust with his teammates won’t be easy.

Historically, we’ve heard plenty of stories of players getting into fights mid-practice. Michael Jordan punched Steven Kerr, Kobe and Shaq got into it on occasion, and even last season Kentavious Caldwell-Pope threw punches at Montrezl Harrell in the Wizards’ locker room. No suspensions came from any of these incidents. 

There are essentially two ways to look at this situation. On one hand, NBA players are in a highly competitive environment on a daily basis with millions of dollars in contracts at stake. Success on the floor can mean generational wealth off of it, and with that comes pressure. Add on top of that the current social media environment where every moment can be dissected and analyzed and you have an incredibly high-stakes environment. Add in the fact that teammates are around each other constantly and, well, it’s a powder keg. Emotions are expected to boil over now and then, and conflicts between teammates are simply par for the course.

On the flip side, physically assaulting someone isn’t something we can or should condone. In our society, you can’t hit someone simply because you are mad at them, and the added layer of Green’s punch being thrown in the workplace, even one as unique as the NBA, has to be considered, as does the severity of the act. 

We think of the old schoolyard code where foes are able to fight out their differences, but a punch can do real, irreparable harm. Rudy Tomjanovich serves as a reminder of this, and when we consider the push across athletics to treat head injuries with the seriousness that they deserve (hello Tua), Green’s haymaker can’t be simply brushed off. 

His punch wasn’t thrown to put Poole in his place or send a message; the video clearly shows an intent to do damage. Green said he was dealing with some things in his personal life that had him in a bad place mentally, which contributed to his short fuse.

While that may explain Green’s actions, it doens’t excuse them.

It didn’t appear that the Warriors were going to suspend Green, but with the footage out, that may be coming. The NBA could potentially get involved as well. They have typically let teams handle these situations but the distribution of the video could force their hand, though Green is already away from the team.

Of course, all of this begs the question: what does this mean for Green’s future with the Warriors? His stint in the Bay has been incredibly successful, with multiple championships and his inspirational story as a player who was overlooked beating the odds. But all things come to an end at some point.

Green has a player option at the conclusion of the season and is rumored to want a 4 year, max deal. Green has been, along with Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, at the heart of the Warriors’ dynasty while racking up 4 All-Star appearances, a Defensive Player Of The Year award, and 2 All NBA selections. Players with a resume like that tend to get paid, and paid well. 

Yet Green turns 33 this season and relies to some degree on athleticism to defend on the level that he does. Make no mistake, he reads the game phenomenally well and his basketball IQ is fantastic, but at 6’6” and defending fours and fives there has to be some concern about whether or not his size will be a bigger issue as athleticism naturally wanes. 

The Warriors are also already deep into the luxury tax, and even they clearly have their limits after losing a few key players last summer due to spending concerns. 

If the Warriors were already uneasy about giving Green the max deal that he wants, does this incident push them to seek a trade and recoup value rather than pay him or let him walk next summer? 

Here are a few options if they go that route: 

Los Angeles Lakers: Trae Young has already set the Twitterverse ablaze with his suggestion, post-video leak, that Green is trying to get to LA. The Lakers made the decision not to trade Russell Westbrook and both their 2027 and 2029 first-round picks for Myles Turner and Buddy Hield, taking the gamble that something better might come along midseason. And isn’t this the sort of situation they would be looking for? A disgruntled star whose value is depressed enough to potentially get him for just two future firsts instead of the gazillion that Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert netted the Jazz? 

Add in the fact that Green is a Klutch Sports client and the pieces start to come together. The problem is that Green only makes $25 million this season, well short of Westbrook’s $47 million, and it’s hard to imagine the Warriors being interested in Westbrook or valuing LA’s 2027 or 2029 firsts while they are in win-now mode. A third team is needed to absorb some of Westbrook’s salary while sending pieces the Warriors want. With Victor Wembanyama and Scoot Henderson leaving teams drooling after their exhibition games in Las Vegas, perhaps more teams will be willing to dump proven players in order to race to the bottom. 

The challenge is that the Spurs and Pacers, who both have cap space to help facilitate a deal, offer most of their value in outgoing players at the center position (Turner and Jakob Poeltl), where Golden State already has Kevon Looney and James Wiseman. Hield, Josh Richardson, and Doug McDermott are all wing players who could fit with the Warriors or just about any other team thanks to their floor spacing ability, but that’s not enough for the Warriors to do the deal.  

Also of note, one of the concerns the Lakers reportedly had about trading for Turner was having too much of their salary cap devoted to front court players. Would they even be willing to give Green the max deal he reportedly wants? 

There is no easy answer here but LA is going to leave no stone unturned as they look for the best way to upgrade their roster, and a player of Green’s quality would at least be worth a discussion.

Atlanta Hawks: The Hawks have had John Collins in trade rumors for what feels like forever, and he would present a fairly simple straight-up swap for Green. After trading for Dejounte Murray over the summer, Atlanta is looking to win now while improving on the defensive side of the ball. 

Green would give them that, plus his experience as a guy who knows what it takes to win would provide value for a young team. Collins is a better fit on the Hawks timeline at just 25 years old, but they strangely haven’t been that enamored with him. 

On the flip side, Collins offers serious talent for the Warriors and should fit in well on the offensive side of the ball. He won’t provide what Draymond does on defense, but in terms of role, getting another PF/C in exchange for Green would give the Warriors the best chance to move on and hit the ground running. 

Dallas Mavericks: There have been rumblings that the Mavs may be setting themselves up to pursue the next star to hit the market, and they have plenty of mid-range contracts with which to do it. Reggie Bullock, Christian Wood, and Maxi Kleber would all be interesting targets; would Dallas be willing to part with two of them plus draft compensation to add Green’s championship experience and versatility? 

The Mavs would like to win now with Luka Doncic consistently in the MVP discussion. There is pressure to get him where he wants to go, and a veteran defensive presence may be just enough to do it. The last thing the Mavs want is Doncic, a generational talent, pondering whether or not he can win in Dallas.

They already brought in Javale McGee and Wood this past summer, but neither offers the versatility that Green provides. When teams inevitably double Doncic, Green can be trusted as a decision-making release valve in the middle of the floor, just as we saw last season in the Finals when the Celtics tried to get the ball out of Curry’s hands.

Having lost Jalen Brunson to free agency, adding Green could allow the Mavs to bounce back in a big way.

Of course, all of this requires Golden State to decide it’s time to part ways with Green, and that shouldn’t be considered the likely outcome.

It may very well be that the Warriors and Green can move past this, he returns to the team, and they continue to be a powerhouse in the Western Conference. With the context of his contract situation, however, and now having to rebuild trust within the group, the Warriors have to consider if it’s time to move on.