The Warriors’ next real inflection point might not come next summer. It could hit right at the 2026-27 trade deadline, when the franchise may finally have to decide whether Draymond Green is part of the future or just a name on an expiring deal.
That’s the picture Marcus Thompson of The Athletic painted while appearing on The Kevin O’Connor Show. Thompson didn’t dance around the possibility.
"I think by the trade deadline, we’ll know this is gonna be tough," Thompson said. "And we could really fully be saying goodbye, right? Like, Draymond could be traded at the trade deadline."
He went even further on where that kind of move could send the organization.
"If Draymond leaves, there’s a sense you could feel like they just might start this thing completely over.”
That idea fits the reality Golden State is staring at. Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler and Green are all on expiring contracts, and while Curry is expected back for the 2027-28 season, the futures of Green and Butler will hinge on how the 2026-27 season unfolds.
If the Warriors are buried by the deadline, keeping Green around would make little sense. At that point, he’d be an expensive one-year rental at $27.7 million, and Golden State would almost certainly want to avoid taking back long-term salary in any deal. That means any contender interested in Green would need to have $27.7 million in expiring money available.
That’s where the market gets tricky. Most teams that could match that salary would rather keep the players making it than turn them into Green. There’s also a real argument that Green’s trade value could be underwater, with some believing the Warriors might even need to attach a second-round pick or two just to move him.
But if another team started asking for draft compensation, Golden State would have an easy out. The Warriors could simply keep Green, buy him out, or let the contract run out after the season.
For a trade to happen, several things would have to line up: the Warriors would need to be far enough down the standings to become sellers, a contender would have to want Green, that contender would need the right expiring salary, and Golden State would have to either get something worthwhile back or decide to let him go without extracting value.
One possible match is Detroit. A framework sending John Collins and Isaiah Joe to Golden State for Green would work financially, and both Collins and Joe could be released in the offseason with no cap penalty. The Pistons would probably prefer to keep both players, but if they believed Green’s defense was the missing piece in a title push, they could make a run at the Saginaw native.
Even then, a trade may not be the likeliest ending. If Green and the Warriors reach the point where both sides agree they’re better off apart, a buyout sounds more plausible than a deadline deal.
And if that happens, Green would still have a market. A few contenders would likely chase him on a prorated veteran minimum, and Philadelphia is one example.
The 76ers would need to build a five-for-one trade just to make the salary math work and avoid moving one of their starters. But if Green were bought out near the deadline, the Sixers would have just enough room under the first apron to sign him.
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For Warriors fans, Curry remains the emotional center of the whole debate because he has been clear about wanting to stay in Golden State for the rest of his career. Still, the business side is never far away, and his current contract situation only keeps the speculation alive around what the next chapter could look like. Even without any immediate change on the horizon, the conversation has already shifted from whether the dynasty mattered to how much longer its defining pieces can realistically stay connected. [Read more 🡒]