Should Golden State Warriors consider trading Draymond Green?
By Alan Mena
As the Golden State Warriors continue to struggle, will exploring a Draymond Green trade be worth it in the long run?
The 2019-20 Golden State Warriors are truly an unrecognizable team. With only six returning players from last season, the rest of the Warriors’ roster is comprised of journeyman vets and rookies.
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Despite being only 23 games into the season, the Warriors have been hit by key injuries to Stephen Curry, D’Angelo Russell, Kevon Looney, Alen Smailagić, Damion Lee, Jacob Evans and Omari Spellman.
All of those injuries occurred during training camp or during the first weeks of the season. Their depth has been exposed thus far as they are 4-19 and still struggling to find their identity without the Splash Brothers.
One major area of concern is that Draymond Green has struggled to produce on both ends of the floor. The 29-year-old has not been effective as usual in 14 games played so far. Needless to say, Draymond is unlikely to become an All-Star this season unless he really starts making a difference on the court.
Through 14 games played, Draymond is averaging 8.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 0.5 blocks and 1.4 steals in 27.6 minutes a game, while shooting 40.2 percent from the field, 27.8 percent beyond the arc and 74.1 percent from the free throw line.
Here is a table that includes Draymond’s averages through his eight seasons in the NBA. Due to the slew of injuries and Kerr’s decision to rest him occasionally, Draymond’s production has dipped across many statistical categories.
| Season | Age | G | MP | FGA | FG% | 3PA | 3P% | eFG% | FTA | FT% | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012-13 | 22 | 79 | 13.4 | 3.3 | .327 | 0.8 | .209 | .354 | 0.7 | .818 | 3.3 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.6 | 2.9 |
| 2013-14 | 23 | 82 | 21.9 | 5.6 | .407 | 2.0 | .333 | .467 | 1.5 | .667 | 5.0 | 1.9 | 1.2 | 0.9 | 1.1 | 6.2 |
| 2014-15 | 24 | 79 | 31.5 | 9.7 | .443 | 4.2 | .337 | .516 | 2.5 | .660 | 8.2 | 3.7 | 1.6 | 1.3 | 1.7 | 11.7 |
| 2015-16 | 25 | 81 | 34.7 | 10.1 | .490 | 3.2 | .388 | .551 | 4.1 | .696 | 9.5 | 7.4 | 1.5 | 1.4 | 3.2 | 14.0 |
| 2016-17 | 26 | 76 | 32.5 | 8.6 | .418 | 3.5 | .308 | .481 | 2.8 | .709 | 7.9 | 7.0 | 2.0 | 1.4 | 2.4 | 10.2 |
| 2017-18 | 27 | 70 | 32.7 | 8.8 | .454 | 3.7 | .301 | .516 | 2.5 | .775 | 7.6 | 7.3 | 1.4 | 1.3 | 2.9 | 11.0 |
| 2018-19 | 28 | 66 | 31.3 | 6.4 | .445 | 2.5 | .285 | .501 | 1.4 | .692 | 7.3 | 6.9 | 1.4 | 1.1 | 2.6 | 7.4 |
| 2019-20 | 29 | 14 | 27.6 | 7.6 | .402 | 2.6 | .278 | .449 | 1.9 | .741 | 6.3 | 5.6 | 1.4 | 0.5 | 2.1 | 8.3 |
| Career | 547 | 28.1 | 7.5 | .438 | 2.8 | .322 | .498 | 2.2 | .707 | 6.9 | 4.9 | 1.4 | 1.1 | 2.0 | 9.0 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 12/5/2019.
Aside from the dip in overall production, Draymond has only recorded seven blocks in 14 games after failing to record one through his first six games played.
His lack of defensive leadership on an almost entirely new team is slightly concerning due to the fact that until the return of Curry, Klay Thompson and Russell (who did return for Wednesday’s loss at Charlotte), the Warriors are no longer a threat to win the NBA championship.
Furthermore, the Warriors have the third-highest payroll ($139,734,684) in the NBA, which makes this decision even more critical until their total payroll decreases through expiring contracts to a total of $99,714,979 in 2022-23.
So the summers of 2022-24 is when the Warriors brass can make a decision for their future and seek out extra help for the Splash Bros and Draymond (including Russell if he is still a part of the team).
If there was any hope that Draymond returns to his previous best form back in the 2015-2016 season, he has not shown any glimpse of what he is capable of.