5 Trades for Warriors to wash their hands of Draymond Green

No. 2: Sacramento Kings trade for Draymond Green

It may seem like a distant memory, but Draymond Green was an unrestricted free agent just this past summer, and it was at least a possibility that he would leave for another team. Enough of a chance, in fact, that when the Sacramento Kings made a draft-day trade to clear salary it looked like they might be lining up to make a run at Green in free agency.

They weren't; Green re-signed with the Warriors and the Kings instead used the cap space to give Domantas Sabonis a large raise they didn't need to give him. That doesn't mean they can't still use Draymond Green; he's an ideal fit for their offensive system that is modeled in large part off of the Warriors, and he would revitalize a defense that has impressively clawed its way to 20th but still has room to grow.

Could the Kings get the Warriors to bite by including an old friend?

The Kings replace Barnes with Green, getting a jolt on defense and another playmaker on offense. They lose out on Barnes' shooting, but if any team in the league can handle that tradeoff it's the Kings.

For the Warriors, Barnes is a versatile player who won't kill their offense and can be relied upon defensively, if not to the level he played at when he was a starter on the 73-win team. He won't need much of a learning curve on the Warriors' system, a major impediment to midseason additions throughout the Steve Kerr era.

Chris Duarte is a nice flier on a third 2021 lottery pick, and the Warriors may demand at least a second be added in. This is a bet on the familiarity of Barnes helping them this year, while most other trades are somewhat more for next season than this one.