Dereck Lively Shuts Down Hypothetical Warriors Trade That Sends Draymond Green To The Dallas Mavericks
After another on-court altercation this week, Warriors star Draymond Green was issued an indefinite suspension from action, confirming that it could be weeks before he returns to play for the Golden State Warriors. Despite his continued misbehavior, however, fans shouldn’t hold their breath on a deal – especially since GM Mike Dunleavy Jr. has already come out to show support for no. 23, who is set to make over 25$ per year through 2027. Still, the fact that such a trade is even being mentioned right now shows how far the Warriors have come from their electric championship run.
Will Warriors Trade Draymond?
At 10-13, Golden State has struggled to string together wins this season and many experts are already out on their potential as a championship unit. Klay Thompson is a shell of himself both on defense and on the perimeter, where he’s shooting a career-low 34.3% from deep. Andrew Wiggins, who was arguably the team’s second-best player during the 2022 Finals run, has been M.I.A. this season after a strange and unexplained absence from the team.
Draymond has been solid when he’s played this season, but his lack of self-control on the court has already cost him some games and it’ll cost him even more after the NBA’s latest ruling. At this point, with no other option left, the Warriors may have to consider trading Draymond, or even Klay Thompson, if they can get some pieces in return to help their title aspirations this season.
Mavericks Are On A Roll
It wasn’t that long ago when the Dallas Mavericks were desperate to add talent around Luka Doncic. This season, with big performances from Lively, Kyrie Irving, and Tim Hardaway Jr., it seems the Mavs finally have enough pieces around Doncic to be a highly competitive basketball team. At 15-8 this season, Dallas is third in the standings after finishing 11th last season. Among the top offenses in the league, the Mavs are on pace for an impressive campaign and it would be a major risk to mess with the roster in any significant way right now.
Trading for a proven defender like Draymond Green would surely address a major weakness of the roster but how much is the guy really worth in 2023? For a Mavs team that is firing on all cylinders right now, it might not be wise to sacrifice your best big man and top bench performer for a guy who is prone to getting himself ejected during games. The good news for Mavericks fans is that no move is imminent right now, and it will take more than a bad few months for the Warriors to give up on their prized defensive swingman.