Trading Draymond Green never felt realistic... Until it did. At this year's trade deadline, the Warriors parting ways with the longtime franchise icon appeared to seriously be on the table.
It didn't happen, of course, and I think the Warriors keeping Draymond through the deadline — when they could have easily traded him — is the subtle admission that this franchise is riding with Draymond until the bitter end. At this point, I would be shocked if Draymond wasn't a Warrior for life.
When you zoom out and view the situation at large, letting Draymond go down with the ship makes more sense than trading him. Green has been an irreplaceable part of this Warriors dynasty, and letting him play out his career in the place he helped built is a totally respectable move, especially because Green's production (which is still good) likely surpasses his value on the trade market (which, at 36, probably isn't great).
The Warriors franchise is starting to employ a strategy of "why not" in its decisions, and making Draymond a lifetime Warrior is another "why not?"
Warriors appear ready to ride it out with Draymond and vice versa
With a player option for next year, Green may decide to opt out and negotiate a two or three-year deal to stay with the Warriors. I'm sure teams would be interested in the future HOFer in free agency, but it's nearly impossible to envision him signing somewhere else at this point, especially with the possibility of LeBron coming to the Bay sounding less crazy by the day. Thus, I'd venture that team and player are on the same
Despite Green not sounding thrilled about Warriors fans wanting him traded this year, I don't think that will perturb him enough to make him sign elsewhere. He loves playing with Steph Curry (understandably) and he's been a LeBron James fan for his whole life. The chance of playing with both of those guys — plus the comfort and knowledge of Steve Kerr's system — should be enough for Draymond to stick in Golden State.
In the words of Green himself, "I would never be a Steve Jobs. That's Steph Curry, but I can say this with pride, that thing doesn't get built without me." He's right. And while the Warriors probably don't have another shocking reveal like the original iPhone up their sleeve, it's okay to rest on their laurels at this point, and keeping Draymond around would be an example of that.