Draymond Green Trade Rumors: Warriors Star Not Expected to Be Dealt This Season
There may potentially be a lot of tension in the Golden State Warriors locker room after Draymond Green punched Jordan Poole in the face during a practice altercation, but don't expect the veteran forward to be dealt this season.
"Everything I've heard is they are not trading Draymond," ESPN's Zach Lowe said Tuesday on his The Lowe Post podcast. "That's just not going to happen. They're trying to win the championship and will try to ride it out unless something drastic happens like the team just falls apart or they're terrible. Draymond is going to be on the team all season."
Lowe added that things may be more tense than the Warriors are letting on, however:
"From what I've heard talking to people, this iciness that you see in the media comments—from Poole saying, 'You know, we're professionals. I'll leave it at that'; from Steve Kerr calling it the biggest crisis they've faced; from Kevon Looney saying, 'Draymond is going to have to earn our trust'—if anything, I think that may be underplaying the level of iciness and tension that they're navigating right now."
It wasn't apparent on the court in Tuesday's season-opening win over the Los Angeles Lakers, a fairly comfortable 123-109 victory.
“We went out there, we had a job to do tonight to win a game,” Poole told reporters when he was asked if he and Green have mended fences. “It was a ring night and that's really what we were focused on finishing the first game. It was a huge win against a really good team.”
Superstar Stephen Curry, meanwhile, said in an interview with Shayna Rubin of the Mercury News that he was "very" confident Green would be able to be successful in the wake of the natural complications that arise after an incident like punching a teammate.
"He'll figure it out," he added. "We will have his back for the entire process. He doesn't need anyone to hold his hand. He responds well to adversity and critics."
Time will tell. Green may be on borrowed time regardless, as he could become a free agent after the 2022-23 season unless he chooses to exercise a $27.6 million player option. It's a payday he may not get in free agency, at least in terms of average annual value, but the Warriors could also simply trade him if he picks it up.
For now, however, it seems likely he's going to be with the Dubs for the entirety of this season.
