Draymond Green is playing for his Golden State Warriors career right now, having signed a one-year, $27.7 million deal in free agency that many instantly saw as a potential trade piece before February's mid-season deadline.
Green's start to the season has been less than optimal for he and the team, with the veteran forward comitting a number of crucial mistakes on Friday night that he simply can't afford if he wants to continue his decorated career at the franchise.
Draymond Green is already making the mistakes that will send him to the trade block
With the Memphis Grizzlies having cut a 12-point Warrior lead down to one, Green needlessly fouled Jaylen Wells in the final minute, sending the young wing to the free-throw line with the visitors in the bonus.
Wells only managed to make one and tie the game, but Cam Boozer gave the Grizzlies the lead on their following offensive possession. Golden State still had a chance to take the lead or send the game to overtime, only for Green to commit a moving screen on Wells that effectively put the final nail in the coffin of a disastrous loss for the hosts.
The Warriors can't afford to lose games from the position they found themselves in with four minutes left. They also can't afford to lose games, particularly at home, to a team like the Grizzlies as talented as they are. Golden State are skating on thin ice as it is in their attempts to keep their head above water before Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody return.
Results like these will see the Warriors drown quickly. They'll also lead to such a poor record that changes will undeniably have to come, with those likely involving Green if he's the one making these kind of mistakes in clutch situations late in games.
Draymond Green isn't delivering on Steve Kerr's offseason hopes
This was supposed to be a new-look Green this season, with Kerr speaking of his desire for the veteran forward to shoot more threes and play off the ball to a greater extent than he has over the last decade.
That simply hasn't been forthcoming through the first two games where Green has more turnovers (nine) than field-goal attempts (eight). Even during preseason, the 36-year-old took six total field-goal attempts across four games and nearly 80 minutes of play. How much longer can the Warriors continue with a starting power forward who won't look at the rim?
The inability to change his game, and the crucial mistakes we saw on Friday against the Grizzlies, is leading Green down a one-way path to being traded in the coming months and subsequently the end of his Warriors career.
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