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Detroit Pistons Rumors: Draymond Green to the Motor City?

By Nate Williams

Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports /
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The buzz around the 2015 NBA Finals was incredible. While the series went down as the highest rated Finals in NBA history, back in Michigan some fans were watching at least partially due to a few Detroit Pistons rumors — in particularly one involving that of Draymond Green.

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Green, who is a Saginaw native, played his collegiate ball at Michigan State University.

Speculation sparked of a possible return by Green to his home state back in February, following a report by Yahoo! Sports  In the report, Wojnarowski stated Green had “had significant interest with pursuing an offer sheet with his hometown Detroit Pistons.”

From the stand point of the Pistons, a possible offer to Green made sense — especially at the time. It has been widely recognized that head coach Stan Van Gundy and company will likely lose the services of Greg Monroe this offseason as he is set to become an unrestricted free agent.

“Detroit will likely lose Monroe to free agency, clearing the way to make an aggressive run at Green. For the Pistons to have a chance to pry Green away, they’ll have to be willing to push an offer closer to a maximum contract — or perhaps a max — to give themselves a real chance.” – Wojnarowski, February 17, 2015

The problem?

That was then, this is now.

Back then, it was believed that due to the Golden State Warriors salary cap situation, the team might not match too rich of an offer made to their soon-to-be restricted free agent.

Now, Draymond Green has become arguably the second best player on a team poised to contend for championships for years to come. Green capped off a standout third NBA season with a triple-double (16 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists) in helping his Warriors win the NBA title over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The former MSU Spartan also finished second in voting for both most improved player and defensive player of the year. He was named to the league’s all-defensive first team as well.

To put it in layman’s terms, Green’s stock is at an all-time high.

“Tell the Warrior fans they shouldn’t worry.” – Warriors GM, Bob Myers

It has now become apparent that Steve Kerr and the Warriors will do what it takes to keep Green in Oakland — including matching any offer made, max deal or not.

The salary cap situation remains the same for the Warriors, however there are ways the team can make the necessary room to pay Green. One plausible way is move David Lee and the $15 million owed him in the 2015-16 season.

Warriors general manager Bob Myers had this to say when speaking with the media earlier this week when asked if the organization would indeed match any offer made to Green, via the Detroit Free Press:

"“I can’t comment, per league rules, on that specific question. The only thing I can say is we really like our core,” Myers said. “Obviously, they’ve achieved a great amount of success so far this season. Our hope is to keep them together.“Green has tremendous value. I think that’s apparent to anyone who watches our team. It’s apparent to us. There’s a lot that he does that people don’t even see, that’s off the court, as far as being a leader in the ways that he is.”"

Another sign that the Pistons have moved on from this notion is the trade the team made for Ersan Ilyasova with the Milwaukee Bucks last week. Ilyasova is expected to take over for Monroe if/when he does leave Detroit.

As heart warming as the story was, and as much as the Detroit Pistons would have likely loved to have Green’s talents in Auburn Hills, there is no way you can fault the 25-year-old for wanting to stay with a team that has dynasty potential, or the team for wanting to keep him.

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