Draymond Green has spent his whole NBA run in Golden State, and for a long stretch that partnership helped define the Warriors’ rise. Four championships in roughly a decade say plenty about what he brought to the table. But the way things are trending, the end of that run may not be far off.
Green was already part of trade chatter ahead of last season’s deadline, and that noise never fully went away. Now he’s headed into the upcoming season on a one-year contract, which is only fueling more speculation that the Warriors could eventually move him.
The more interesting question is whether Golden State might have been better off making that call earlier. Green said on his podcast that in 2023 he was close to a sign-and-trade with the Memphis Grizzlies and was offered more money, but he chose to remain with the Warriors after it became clear in negotiations that the team wanted him to stay.
That came after the 2022-23 season, a year that was already damaged before it really got going. Green’s strike on Jordan Poole set the tone, and the fallout from that incident was a major part of why the season never felt right. The Warriors were coming off a title, but the chemistry wasn’t there, and in the end it was Poole who got dealt while Green stayed put.
Looking back, there’s an argument that a clean break then might have opened more doors later. If Green had moved on in 2023 and Klay Thompson had still left the following year, Golden State might have had more room to reshape the roster around Stephen Curry.
Instead, the core has stayed mostly intact, and the Warriors now find themselves in an awkward middle ground. They’re not rebuilding, but they’re not really a true contender either.
Nobody can say for sure how different things would look if Green had gone to Memphis. Maybe the result would have been largely the same. But eventually, the Warriors are going to have to make a decision on him unless he puts together a strong bounce-back season and the team outperforms expectations.
It’s hard to picture Green in another uniform after everything he’s meant to the franchise. Still, the tough choices are coming, and some of them might have been easier to handle if Golden State had made that move back in 2023.
In Other News...
Warriors Keep Chasing Another Star And It Says Everything
Golden States appetite for another marquee addition has not gone away, and the latest name to surface is one that would fit the franchises win-now mindset. Devin Booker has been tied to the Warriors in recent chatter, with some around the league pointing to Steve Kerrs well-known admiration for him from their time together with Team USA. It is the kind of speculation that naturally follows a team that has spent recent years keeping one eye on the present and another on the next big swing.
Devin Booker sits at the center of the conversation, even if the practical path is thin. Analysts view a deal as highly unlikely, mainly because he remains firmly under contract in Phoenix and is not regarded as someone looking for a change of scenery. For Golden State, though, the continued linkage says plenty about how the organization is still chasing star power, even when the odds say the dream is more talk than transaction. [Read more 🡒]
Warriors Just Added Another Name To A Tough Two-Way Battle
The Warriors keep adding layers to a two-way competition that already looked crowded, and Chance McMillian is the latest name in the mix after signing an Exhibit-10 contract. McMillian spent nine summer-league games with Golden State and also got a look last season with Santa Cruz, where he appeared in 31 games, giving the organization another familiar prospect to track as camp approaches.
For McMillian, the next step is simple in theory and tricky in practice: show enough in training camp and the preseason to carve out a real opening. He is entering a battle that includes Graham Ike, Nick Boyd, Deivon Smith and Alex Toohey, and with only so much room at the bottom of the roster, the path to a two-way deal figures to come down to who performs best when the games start counting again. [Read more 🡒]
Cavaliers Brought Back A Familiar Shooter For A Reason
Training camp signings have become a familiar part of the NBAs fall rhythm, and for teams like Golden State, they often have as much to do with the G League as the roster that opens the season. The Warriors have used that path before, bringing in guards who can get a closer look in camp before moving on to Santa Cruz, where the developmental work really begins.
This years version fits that same template, with Chance McMillian and Deivon Smith among the players added on Exhibit 10 deals. Both were with the Santa Cruz Warriors last season, and the setup gives Golden State a chance to keep continuity in its system while giving the players a runway to stick around and earn a bonus if they remain with the affiliate long enough. [Read more 🡒]