The Warriors’ season could end up answering a question Golden State would rather not face: how far will the front office go if things start to fall apart?
NBA insider Kevin O’Connor said this year could push the team into major changes, with Draymond Green the most notable name outside of Stephen Curry who might not be untouchable if the deadline turns into a reckoning.
“This might be the time, like right now, we’re gonna figure out what happens… I think by the trade deadline, we’ll know, ‘This is gonna be tough.’ And we could really fully be saying goodbye, right?
Draymond could be traded at the trade deadline,” reported Kevin O’Connor. “Steph ain’t going.
Steph ain’t going nowhere. Steph’s a lifer.
Plus, you gotta sell the tickets, man. Like, where are you going?
Steph still provides one of the top experiences in the NBA, just to take in, right? But if this thing doesn’t work, they could make some decisions where you’re like, ‘Okay, we’re gonna drastically change this thing.
Jimmy Butler’s on a one-year deal. Draymond Green’s on a one-year deal.’
They’re openly saying, ‘We have a hundred million in expiring contracts. We got flexibility.’
Those are the core players, and Klay’s already gone. If Draymond leaves, there’s a sense you could feel like they just might start this thing completely over.”
Green is 36 now, and last season showed the wear. He averaged 8.4 points, 5.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 0.9 steals and 0.6 blocks while shooting 41.8% from the field. Even with those numbers sliding, he still carries serious weight in Golden State as a four-time champion, four-time All-Star and defensive centerpiece.
There’s also history here. Green nearly left for the Grizzlies a few years ago, but the Warriors kept him and reinforced their belief in him. That commitment continued this summer when he re-signed on a one-year, $27.7 million deal.
But contracts and sentiment only go so far if the season goes sideways. If Golden State decides it needs to reshape the roster, Green becomes a logical name to move. As an expiring veteran, he likely wouldn’t bring back a massive haul, but a draft pick or a useful role player could be enough to get a deal moving, especially if it creates financial breathing room.
Any team in the market for Green would be looking to win now. The Lakers were mentioned as a possible fit because of their defensive issues, while the Bulls could also make sense if they wanted a veteran presence and a locker-room leader.
For the moment, the future is unsettled. What isn’t unsettled is that Green’s time with the Warriors is not endless, and the final chapter could arrive sooner than expected. The only real question is whether he closes it out in Golden State or somewhere else.
In Other News...
Warriors May Be Eyeing A Much Bigger Swing Than Fans Expected
The market around the Warriors has kept shifting, with Marcus Smart taking a two-year, $12.4 million deal with Houston and the Lakers adding Collin Sexton on a two-year, $19.2 million contract while other teams continue to reshape their rosters. Against that backdrop, Golden States search for more firepower feels less like a minor tweak and more like a sign the front office is still weighing a far more ambitious move than it first let on.
What makes the situation more interesting is the name that keeps surfacing in connection with the Warriors: Devin Booker. There is clearly a sense around the league that Golden State could be thinking bigger than a standard depth addition, especially with Sacramento taking a low-risk flier on Ben Simmons and Steve Ballmer choosing not to push back legally over the NBAs cap-circumvention sanctions, a reminder that the rules landscape around team-building remains very much in flux. [Read more 🡒]
Warriors Could Regret Passing On This Celtics Development Bet
Devin Carters path has taken another turn, and its the kind of move that can look minor in September but loom larger once the season gets rolling. The former first-round pick, waived by the Hawks after his stop in Atlanta, has landed a training camp contract with Boston, where the Celtics are treating him as a development project with real rotation upside. For a player still trying to carve out a steady NBA role, that kind of situation matters as much as the jersey hes wearing.
It also gives the Warriors a fresh reminder of a name they passed on when he was available in trade talks. Boston was able to sell Carter on opportunity over flashier short-term money elsewhere, and that matters in the long run when a team is trying to build depth around a contenders core. Golden State does not need another reason to wonder whether patience with a prospect can turn into regret, but Carters next step will provide one more answer. [Read more 🡒]
Warriors Fans Just Got Pulled Into An Uncomfortable Steph Curry Debate
The latest round of Warriors talk has drifted from game results to the kind of uncomfortable long view that always seems to follow a dynasty. On a podcast, Marcus Thompson II raised the possibility that Golden State could eventually have to make a hard call on Draymond Green if the teams performance slips down the line, a thought that immediately fed broader chatter about how long the core can stay intact. From there, the conversation spilled onto social media, where one post imagined Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson all finishing their careers in different places, a stark reminder of how quickly an era can feel like it is closing.
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 🡒]