NBA Rumors: Warriors Committed to Draymond Green; GS to Be Active at Trade Deadline
Timothy Rapp@@TRappaRT
Featured Columnist IVJanuary 8, 2024
The Golden State Warriors are struggling, starting the 2023-24 season with a disappointing 17-19 record. Reinforcements could be coming ahead of February's trade deadline, though veteran forward Draymond Green is expected to stick around.
According to Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area: "The Warriors remain committed to Green, who along with Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, compose the team's veteran core. Though multiple league sources tell NBC Sports Bay Area that Golden State will be active approaching the deadline, there has been nothing to indicate a move that would break up that decorated trio."
If the Warriors are going to make major changes and upgrade the roster this season, the most likely pair to be shipped out are veteran point guard Chris Paul and promising young wing Jonathan Kuminga.
Paul, who is currently out four to six weeks with a fractured hand, would mostly be used in potential trades for salary-matching purposes. The 38-year-old is averaging just 8.9 points per game as the team's backup point guard, though he remains an excellent playmaker, putting up 7.2 assists per contest.
But his $30.8 million salary would allow the Warriors to get into talks for another star player if they choose to go that route.
The 21-year-old Kuminga, on the other hand, is developing into a very intriguing young player. He's third on the Warriors in scoring this season (12.8 PPG) to go along with 4.1 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game while providing solid defense on the wing. If he ever develops a consistent perimeter shot (27.3 percent from three), he has the chance to be a monster two-way player.
He's easily the team's most intriguing trade chip, and the fact that he and Green don't coexist well on the court given their respective struggles as perimeter shooters makes him an obvious trade chip.
The Dubs would surely prefer to keep him for the long term, but Curry's championship window is closing and the team isn't good enough as currently constructed.
As for Green, the 33-year-old was reinstated by the NBA on Saturday after serving what ultimately was a 12-game suspension for striking Phoenix Suns center Jusuf Nurkić in the face. Between November and the present, Green missed 17 games due to suspensions after his five-game punishment for putting Rudy Gobert in a chokehold (and has since missed another game as he ramps back up for game action).
He remains a crucial playmaker on offense and the team's defensive fulcrum. But the Warriors need Green to keep his composure and stay on the court.
The team's margin for error has shrunk as its star trio continues to age, and another lengthy stint on the sidelines from Green—the team has gone just 10-11 without—would be incredibly detrimental.
