The on-court form and production of Draymond Green has come under heavy scrutiny over the past month, so much so there's been plenty of speculation on whether the Golden State Warriors should be willing to include their franchise legend in a trade before the February 5 deadline.
ESPN's Anthony Slater even outlined on Monday how Green is trying to rediscover that winning impact, but the problem is it's going to be hard for the veteran forward to do that if he's not right from a physical standpoint.
Draymond Green's form could remain a question due to health concerns
Green played reasonably well against the L.A. Clippers at the Intuit Dome on Monday night, but may have left it counting the cost after a number of heavy collisions and a rolled ankle that could cause concern going forward.
"I'm beat the f**k up," Green said. "I crashed into the bench and knocked a rib, then right after that I rolled my ankle and fell on my wrist, just an accumulation of this game."
Draymond Green said he’s “beat the f*** up” after this Clippers game. Banged up his rib, ankle and left wrist. pic.twitter.com/6RTcy4Sfpm
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) January 6, 2026
While Green was left open and went 0-of-6 from 3-point range against the Clippers, he did have five rebounds, two steals and an extraordinary 12 assists in his 32 minutes. More importantly, those 12 assists came with only one turnover, while the 35-year-old was also a team-high +15 in the agonizing 103-102 defeat.
After nearing a triple double with 10 points, eight rebounds and 12 assists last week, there's optimism that Green's form could be on the improve after finishing with easily the worst plus-minus (-50) of any Warrior player through the month of December.
Needless to say Green and Golden State can't afford to have this progress halted by injury concerns, particularly when his defensive excellence is so often attributed to his physicality and taking it up to opposing centers who are far taller and heavier.
At the same time, Green also can't afford to miss games. If he's out of the lineup and the Warriors lose, then there season dives into an even bigger hole. If he's out and they're winning, which has tended to be the case over recent weeks, then even more conjecture will come on Green and his importance to Golden State at this point of his career.
That's a tough position for any veteran player to be in, meaning Green and the Warriors can only hope that his body allows him to take the floor and be the important two-way factor he's been for so long.