4 rival stars the Golden State Warriors would never acquire via trade or free agency

3. Domantas Sabonis

This is where Draymond Green's history comes back into play, though not necessarily to the point of his beef with Gobert. Still, one of the 4x All-Star's most infamous incidents in the last two years came when he stomped on Domantas Sabonis during the 2023 first-round series between the Warriors and Kings.

Green was suspended a game for his misconduct, yet that wasn't necessarily just an isolated incident. The 34-year-old took to his podcast in the aftermath of Golden State's Game 7 victory at Golden 1 Center, stating that he "lost a lot of respect for Sabonis" after the Sacramento big man failed to shake hands after the series.

There's not necessarily a whole lot of animosity there that couldn't be worked through, but combined with Sabonis now entering a four-year, $186 million contract, the 28-year-old isn't someone who will be joining the Warriors unless it comes in 5-6+ years once Green's retired.

4. Damian Lillard

This one could be considered controversial given Damian Lillard's Oakland roots will always make a homecoming somewhat possible in theory. But in reality, the 8x All-Star has never strongly indicated a desire to play for his hometown team since being drafted, and if anything he's actually publicly driven against the idea.

In an interview on the BACKONFIGG’ podcast last offseason, Lillard declared he’d rather lose every year than move to Golden State, while also criticizing Kevin Durant’s move to The Bay in 2016.

There's also been the comparisons and subsequent rivalry between Lillard and Warrior superstar Stephen Curry over the years. When asked in a different interview last year about the proposition of going home, Lillard stated "no, (they got) somebody that plays my position that, behind LeBron (James) is the best player of this era. So to me that don't even make sense."

While a Curry-Lillard combo would be fun to some extent, it also doesn't make too much sense and is something that almost assuredly will never happen in a Golden State uniform.