The Golden State Warriors are at a crossroads. They would likely to make slight changes while freeing up cap space as well. That said, who might be dealt?
It boils down to two players that would be the centerpiece in any trade the Golden State Warriors are a major player in. Those players are Andre Iguodala and Draymond Green.
Each have qualities that make Golden State gift them eight-figure contract; however, each also have faults that potentially turn the Dubs against them. Let’s just say the course of the next few months will be rather interesting for Golden State.
The case for trading Iguodala weakened after his extremely efficient 23 points against the Lakers on Christmas Day. Before that game, Iguodala has just a handful of double-digit outings and not a single 20-point outing.
He was having his worst professional season. He’s averaging his fewest points and assists per game of his 15-year career. His minutes, almost reaching a full two quarters per game, can’t justify his low impact.
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Still under contract until after next season, Iguodala’s over $17 million owed to him is a large cap hit for the Warriors, and if they want to re-sign both Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson, they may need to free that space.
The case, while similar, is far from the same for Green.
Green has been a vital part of the Warriors over the last few seasons. This year, he’s arguably made their offense worse. He’s averaging fewer assists per game than each of the last three seasons and has regressed from a double-digit scorer to one barely averaging seven per game.
The worst part of Green’s downfall has been his three-point shooting. This season, he’s shooting less than 23% from deep. Teams understand that Green’s shooting is the Warriors’ weakness. They play miles off Green, hurting the spacing the destroying the flow of the Warriors’ offense.
Against the Lakers, obviously not one of Green’s better showings, he put up an offensive rating of just 86 and a net rating of -22.5. On the brightest spotlight till the kickoff of the NBA playoffs, the Dubs stumbled, and their weaknesses were clearly exposed.
If the Dubs trade Green for an expiring contract, they’d free up enough space to sign a top-tier free agent this offseason. Or, they’d be able to retain Kevin Durant. However, to gift another team a four-time All-Star, they’d have to be confident Durant would return if offered a max.
If he tells them it’s guaranteed, trading Iggy or Green wouldn’t be the Warriors worst play.