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Once upon a time, Draymond Green was an asset the Golden State Warriors wouldn’t dare consider trading, as he was a menacing defender who operated the point forward position to near perfection.
Nowadays, Green is an aging veteran that many believe could become a trade candidate if he opts into his $27.7 million player option for the 2026-27 season. Why? Because he’s a step slower on the defensive end and doesn’t move the needle as an on-the-move playmaker the same way he did in his golden years.
If the Warriors decide to trade Green, CBS Sports’ Brad Botkin thinks the franchise should acquire the Los Angeles Lakers' 26-year-old rising star trade target.
“The Warriors could need Green to sign for less annual money to keep (Kristaps) Porzingis and stay under the tax line, which they would have to do if they want to give LeBron James the $15 million non-taxpayer mid-level exception,’ Botkin wrote Friday. “That's just one hypothetical.”
“But let's say that doesn't happen, and Green ends up exercising the player option; that would seemingly make trading him a real possibility. He would be on an expiring contract at that point, and the Warriors would be in a situation where they would lose him for nothing next summer if they don't want to sign him to another multi-year deal.”
“The Warriors have long been enamored with Trey Murphy III (for good reason, and they're not the only ones). If they could send Green to New Orleans along with a couple of first-round picks (either this year's No. 11 pick or a couple of future picks) for Murphy, that would be a home-run deal from the non-sentimental standpoint of getting better and younger with Murphy. But with Green, sentimentality is a real part of the equation.”
It’s safe to say the Warriors would take solace in acquiring a target that the Lakers, who prevented Golden State from reaching the Western Conference Finals in 2023, have their eyes on. Murphy will be an All-Star in due time, but for now, he’ll have to settle for being a standout multifaceted forward whose ceiling is higher than most.
The Virginia product contributed 21.5 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 1.5 steals per game, connected on 47% of his field goals and 37.9% of his triples. Landing an evolving three/stretch four who will only improve with additional reps would, at the very least, give the Warriors more optimism moving forward.
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