As Draymond Green makes his way back into the NBA’s good graces following his extended ban, Bill Simmons of The Ringer urges the Golden State Warriors to trade him for a rim-running center.

“I have a really fun trade….” “Draymond Green for Jarret Allen,” Simmons said on the December 19 episode of his podcast “The Bill Simmons Show.”

Allen is eight years younger than Green, whose erratic behavior derailed the Warriors’ 2016 NBA Finals run and ended their season last year with his punch to Jordan Poole. And now he’s been suspended indefinitely for a string of wild ejections this season, the most recent of which was a punch to the face of Phoenix Suns center Jusuf Nurkic.

As part of the conditions for his return, Green is currently receiving counseling.

The Warriors have won three consecutive games and are now 3-1 since Green’s suspension. The development of rookie big man Trayce Jackson-Davis, whose pick-and-roll skills and rim protection have proven valuable to the Warriors, is a huge part of that.

Why Trade Is Beneficial

Allen, a two-time All-Star center for the Cleveland Cavaliers, is a taller and more experienced counterpart of the Warriors rookie.

Allen, who is 6-foot-11, is averaging 13.0 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 0.8 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game.

“Take Draymond; Donovan Mitchell will remain in Cleveland.” “Jarrett Allen fades with Golden State,” Simmons added. “It’s just a straight-up trade.” I took my time thinking about who would say no to that. I have no idea. Because of the [Stephen] Curry component, I believe Golden State would say no. I don’t believe Curry wants Draymond dealt, but I’m not sure.”

According to Simmons, the Cavaliers’ aim should be to keep Donovan Mitchell from departing. Green, 33, will provide them with the toughness and identity they needed, which was a significant reason why the New York Knicks knocked them out in the first round last season.

“Draymond next to [Evan] Mobley makes more sense than Allen next to Mobley,” he said. “Now we have a defensive identity as well as a leader.” That wasn’t available before. The counter-argument would be, “Why the f*** would you trade for Draymond when he appears to be losing his mind?”

Allen is in the third season of a five-year, $100 million contract. Green is in the first year of a four-year, $100 million contract.

Curry pushed back on the myth that the Warriors should break up their dynasty core after scoring 33 points, including a spectacular dagger 3 against the league’s best club, the Boston Celtics.

“It’s been like that for years now,” Curry concluded his postgame press conference. “Even before we won the ’22 title. They constantly find something to criticize, which is understandable given the stakes.”

Following a string of blown leads, their stars underperforming, and Draymond Green’s indefinite ban, the talks became more heated.

“So you kind of take that in stride,” Curry explained, “and for me, my approach is to dumb it down to what I said when we were in [Los Angeles], which is just trying to figure out how to win a game at a time and give yourself some momentum, confidence, and energy to get to a point… where you show as a team to be a serious threat to win a playoff series.”

The Warriors have won three of their last four games to improve to 13-14, one game behind the 10th-seeded Phoenix Suns in the Western Conference.