Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated believes it may take a Draymond Green trade for the Golden State Warriors to be back among the title contenders in the NBA over the next few years.
Mannix joined Cris Carter and Nick Wright on Fox Sports 1’s “First Things First” in the aftermath of the 2019 NBA Finals on Friday to discuss the future of the Warriors, who just lost not one but two of their key players to major injuries in the series.
With the Warriors’ championship window taking a bit of a pause following devastating injuries to Klay Thompson (torn ACL in left knee) and Kevin Durant (ruptured Achilles), the S.I’s Sr.
Writer thinks it’s about time for the Dubs to re-assess the future of All-Star forward Draymond Green.
Finding takers for Draymond Green
Green, who is entering the final year of a five-year, $85 million contract next season, could be the odd man out as the Warriors begin to rebuild the makeup of roster surrounding the “Splash Brothers” moving forward.
Mannix stressed that the Warriors should strike while Green’s value is still high on the market because it won’t go any higher as he ages. He added the looming cap flexibility problem as a result of re-signing Thompson and possibly Durant to max-level contracts this summer would force Golden State to explore trade options involving their do-it-all forward.
“If you are looking at Draymond Green this offseason, this might be an opportunity for the Warriors to turn around and try to trade him for multiple pieces that make sense around Klay and Steph for the long term. If you can get two or three pieces for Draymond Green and you start looking for 2020 and beyond, that to me is something to be considered.” Mannix said on Green as trade bait.
When asked what kind of trade returns the Warriors would get if they decide to ship Green elsewhere, Mannix really believes a draft pick and probably a young player would seal the deal.
“Draymond has been the heart and soul of the three-time NBA champion, but you don’t pay for past performance. You gotta look at this practically and giving him that kind of money [max contract] is a lot.
I am thinking about even if you are not getting dollar for dollar value. I am thinking if you can get a draft pick and one young player back in return for Draymond Green,” the S.I scribe added.
Going out as a fighter
Despite the 114-11o loss to the eventual champion Raptors in the final game at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Green lauded their efforts for staying within striking distance up to the last second despite the injuries they sustained.
“It’s a complete honor,” Green said. “This city has given so much to us. Obviously, we didn’t finish the way we wanted it to finish. But in the end, we went out like Oakland would want us to go out. We went down fighting.”
Green recorded 11 points, 19 rebounds and 13 assists in the close-out game, giving him his third triple-double in the finals and joining elite company with LeBron James and Magic Johnson.
