Warriors’ Draymond Green gives take on Nets-Sixers trade

The Golden State Warriors may not directly be impacted by the blockbuster Eastern Conference trade directly, but with a team capable of contending for the NBA Championship, the Dubs could easily meet either Philadelphia or Brooklyn in the NBA Finals.

While it still feels like Milwaukee is still the team to beat in the East, the Nets and Sixers made enough moves to each of their respective rosters to have their respective fanbases hoping they can get to the league’s brightest stage.

The Golden State Warriors didn’t make a move at the trade deadline, but Draymond Green does have a take on the league’s long blockbuster trade.

The Nets received Ben Simmons (who had yet to play a game for Philadelphia this season), Seth Curry, Andre Drummond, and two first-round picks. The Sixers brought in former MVP guard James Harden and veteran forward Paul Millsap.

Let’s just say most people think this was a huge win for the Nets, a team that was falling apart with Harden’s desire to leave at the forefront of the news. Knowing the details, here’s what Warriors forward Draymond Green said on the move from Sixers Wire with the original interview done by The Volume.

"“Even bigger than the picks for me was Seth Curry like I just didn’t think Philly would be trading Seth Curry. Especially the way James Harden plays, you’ve seen shooters around him that can catch and knock the shot down and with Joel Embiid, I mean, you always want to pair a big man with a shooter just in case they’re trying to double team, you can’t help of Seth Curry,” Green said."

Harden is just as good of a scorer as he is a distributor. Now, the Sixers still have numerous sharpshooters, but none are quite to the level of Curry, who was shooting 40% from deep this season.

Furkan Korkmaz and Georges Niang will both provide floor space, but neither is the playmaker that Curry proved himself to be.

"“I’m excited to see Ben play when Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving and Seth Curry and Patty Mills like you give a player with Ben’s playmaking ability with his speed, the way he can pass the ball. His court vision you give a player all those weapons with his skill set…in my opinion, the Brooklyn Nets definitely won the trade,” Green continued with."

When I first heard of this trade, I actually had a similar mindset.

I can understand the picks, Simmons and Drummond (especially considering the Nets were without a dominant big man and he used to be one of the best rebounders in the NBA). But, Curry is where the line would’ve been drawn.

On the other hand though, if Philly doesn’t get this deal done, they arguably aren’t Finals contenders. They needed the value, either in a trade or on the court, from Simmons to be at that level and compete with teams like Milwaukee and Brooklyn.

However, Curry and his knowledge of the game makes all four other players better. The Sixers were 3.7 points per 100 possessions better than their opponent with Curry on the court. He’s that good and is easily one of the more underrated players in the league.

In the Sixers mindset though, when you can acquire an MVP, you do it, and considering the circumstances, making that move was clearly the best-case scenario for their near-term future. But, Green didn’t love it, and I think that’s a mindset that resonated with most fans.