Grade the Trade: Warriors send Draymond home, add Steph stopper in vital 3-team pitch

Grade the Trade: Do Warriors pull the trigger?

Any trade involving Draymond Green or Klay Thompson is a painful one to consider; many fans of the Golden State Warriors would like to see that trio (along with Stephen Curry) finish out their careers with the franchise. That's not a wrong sentiment to have, but it isn't one that prioritizes another title run.

With that goal in mind, does this deal help them to accomplish that goal? We discussed that trading Draymond would eliminate the downside risk of another suspension. Doing so would come with adding the downside risk of those future first-round picks. The Warriors will likely always be trying to field a contending team, but it's not out of the question they will be really bad for a couple of seasons after Curry retires.

The upside of adding Mikal Bridges is also significant. He is one of the best players in the league at stopping Stephen Curry -- or at least he was when he was on the Phoenix Suns -- and the Warriors can reduce his offensive load and unleash him on some of the elite guards in the Western Conference like Anthony Edwards, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jamal Murray.

Bridges has also developed as an offensive player over the past few seasons, and while he is miscast as the primary option, in Golden State as the third option after Curry and Jonathan Kuminga he could excel, attacking mismatches and getting a solid diet of catch-and-shoot 3-pointers. Add in that he never misses time due to injury and he would raise the Warriors' floor significantly.

The Warriors could start Kuminga and Trayce Jackson-Davis together in the frontcourt with Curry, Bridges and a wing, be that Klay Thompson, Brandin Podziemski or Moses Moody. That lineup would have fewer teeth defensively but be extremely potent on offense.

Would the tradeoff be worth it? It's a difficult question to answer, but the answer is probably no. Swapping Green for Bridges raises the floor of the team, as he would help them win games reliably in the regular season and earn a higher seed in the playoffs. He can shoot, he can defend, and he can create shots when needed.

He also doesn't have that extra elite gear at the very top, that ability to completely change a game with his defensive intensity. Draymond Green does have that, and while as he ages it's likely harder to pull that lever, he has still shown he can reach that level on occasion. Giving that up in exchange for Bridges' reliable impact may be worth it, but when you add in the two lucrative picks it tilts too far in the other direction.

Grade: B-