On June 28, 2012 in Saginaw, Michigan, a small 6'6 Power Forward from Michigan State sits there patiently in his home waiting for his name to be called, after all the waiting and patience 34 picks in, he hears his name called. 14 years later, Draymond Green has now become a household name with a Defensive Player of the Year, nine All Defensive, two All NBA, 2017 NBA Steals leader, four All Stars, and Four NBA Championships cementing his claim to the Hall of Fame without mentioning anything he did in college.
The Golden State Warriors controlled the narrative in the late 2010's in the NBA with their deep shooting, floor spacing, and their small ball style of play which is due in large part of Steve Kerr's plan of using Draymond as not really as a power forward, not really a point guard, but rather a point center where the plays were a lot of pick and rolls and spacing so Curry can hand the ball to Draymond and then Draymond can hand it back to Curry when he finds his spot. Obviously, that is not what every play consists of but that is what he will be remembered among other things like one of the best defenders of the 2010's or most All Star appearances in the modern NBA with not having more than 15 points per game in a season or most notably his trolling, trash talking, and straight up rough housing that has been mentioned for years and years and still be brought up to this day. When we look back at it, we will realize that Draymond Green was at the forefront of the NBA changing for the better or worse.
In the past few years, the landscape of the NBA changed and the team that was the standard fell to this weird spot of mediocrity where they can't decide if they want to be good or bad or they have become Old Yeller, got rabies, and now the owner needs to put him down the hard way. The downward spiral started with the 2019 NBA Finals where KD was playing through injury until a torn Achilles took him down and then Klay Thompson eventually tore his ACL near the end of the game that closed the door to the Warriors winning the Championship and they lost to the Toronto Raptors. Durant left for Brooklyn shortly after and Klay Thompson was announced out for the 2019-20 season which meant the Warriors will undergo what they wanted to be a soft rebuild, get a top pick, return to dynasty form. If people remember history, that is kinda what happened where they went on a short rebuild, got some young players to compete, but none of those young stars really contributed to anything for the team with Wiseman considered a bust as soon as he stepped foot unto Chase Center, Kuminga not really getting a chance to prove anything, and Moses Moody wasn't able to contribute until it was too late. They did win in 2022, but that felt like an end of an era for them and have now been trying to run it back since in a way a 60 year old knee replacement recipient wants to run it back in a game of pickup with his 12 year old grandson. They have gotten too old to do anything and the young help they were to develop did not develop well, properly, or at all.
As everything has pointed towards the end of the road, one name has been at the top of the chopping block for years, and that is Draymond Green. It has appeared that his style of play has gotten old, tired, and stale and it is time for the Warriors to start fresh. But, let's look at this real quick, Draymond has been there for 13, heading into his 14th season at Golden State and has been loyal and a strong leader and advisor for the franchise, at this point trading him would just look bad on the organizations part trading away a pillar of this franchise, and technically he can't be traded because he has a Player Option and Green and the FO has a strong relationship already that if Draymond opts in then that would mean he won't be traded unless it is reported he asked to be traded and at that point why did he accept the contract if he wanted out in the first place? I get it, there is $27 million on the table, but that is just for one season and then it is gone. There is not a world where Draymond is traded and if he leaves it will be on his own terms in Free Agency. We are entering the 2026-27 season and all signs point towards this possibly being Steph Curry's final season with this being his final year on his contract and him making comments about doing whatever he can to participate in All Star Weekend 2027 no matter what which could just be a "Dame won Three Point Contest with a torn Achilles, what is my excuse?" kind of thing, but it just feels like he is ready to hang the jersey up soon and 2027 might be that year as he is probably going to announce soon this is his last hurrah. With that said, if that is indeed the case, what could happen here is that Draymond decides to decline his PO and instead of being a Free Agent and explore his options, he works a deal with the FO that is a team friendly contract that not only bring him back on a smaller deal but opens up cap space to sign younger players in Free Agency that can contribute now and to give the Warriors the best chance to compete in the Western Conference and hope to make it to the Finals one last time with Curry driving.
Thank you everyone for reading this and please go to the comments and share your thoughts on my article. I have been working on this idea for weeks and have been trying to figure out how to work on this and maneuver everything in my head to the screen but I think I got it how I wanted it to be. I hate that I couldn't add the trade machine to this article so I can show you what I can do and promote my mock draft I just made like an hour ago because that would be... Part 2 https://fanspo.com/nba/s/warriors/trades/blT7q6r9WHcjye/the-farewell-tour-what-i-would-do-as-the-golden-state-warriors-gm