The 2019-2020 season was supposed to be the resurrection of Warriors’ star Draymond Green. Without Kevin Durant, Green numbers continued to dwindle.
The Golden State Warriors were the worst team in the NBA this season. If the NBA returns in early August as it seems planned to, the Warriors shockingly won’t be involved as they aren’t one of the league’s top-22 teams.
Much of their lack of success can be put on Draymond Green. While he was far from the only player that didn’t live up to their potential this season, Green’s lack of production was a major factor in the team’s struggle.
Kevin Durant’s departure was the reason many assumed Green’s career would’ve been resurrected. The 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 season, the two prior to Durant’s arrival, were a few of Green’s best. He was an active, involved part of the offense.
Green’s dynamic passing ability had helped him gain such a role in the offense. Back in the day, he was also shooting well from deep. While his role as a distributor hasn’t necessarily taken a backseat, Green’s struggle from deep has been a major focal point for opposing defense.
His inability to shoot from three has hurt the team’s spacing and therefore renders his passing ability less impactful. Green’s percentage from deep have dropped from 39% to 31% to 30% to 29% and to finally 28% from that dominant 2015-2016 season up until this past year.
Those aren’t the only numbers from dropped, potentially making him an expendable asset. While they are the most concerning, Green’s scoring, passing, and rebounding numbers are all the lowest of the past five seasons.
On a team where he has unlimited control of the offense with Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson out, Green failed to get the team going, oftentimes leaving the offensive load on D’Angelo Russell, a young point guard who was traded halfway through the season.
Green was given a max-level extension this past offseason. He’s earned the money with his high-level play throughout his career, but moving forward, he must be better.