ο»ΏAccording to Heavy Sports’ Sean Deveney, an NBA executive thinks that the Los Angeles Lakers are the only team that could pull off a Draymond Green trade.
Green has been tossed from three games this season and suspended twice by the Golden State Warriors for striking Jusuf Nurkic in the face during a recent game.
He has a contract with the Warriors that runs at least through the 2025β2026 season thanks to a new agreement he recently signed. He is covered by a player option for the 2026β2027 season.
“There’s really only one team that could possibly trade for him if you were to get him out of Golden State,” the executive stated. The Lakers are that. Really, no one else could manage what he’s providing. James LeBron could. LeBron and Draymond have been sharing kisses for a few years now.
“It goes beyond the on-court activities, altercations, and everything of that. However, the agreement. The strategy is that he wouldn’t want to play for many teams. Everything that was said. A Draymond Green trade was too much for our club or our owner to bear. That’s what most people would say. But the Lakers were capable of handling it. They probably don’t want to. But they were able to.
Although the executive believes the Lakers could manage a Green trade, it might not be best for the team.
The seasoned forward has had multiple issues since punching Jordan Poole at a workout before the previous season, and he has been incredibly volatile thus far this season.
This season, Green has been punished for striking Nurkic and placing Rudy Gobert in a headlock. In a previous season’s playoff matchup against the Sacramento Kings, he also trod on Domantas Sabonis’ chest.
Green has played well this season despite all of that; he is averaging 9.7 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 5.8 assists per game while shooting 42.9 percent from three-point range and 49.0 percent from the field.
The Lakers might decide against splitting up their core to get a guy like Green, even with those stats. Los Angeles won the NBA’s In-Season Tournament this season and advanced to the Western Conference Finals the previous year.
Although Green’s theatrics might subside if he plays with James, that is not a given. Despite sharing four championships with Stephen Curry and the Warriors, Green has nonetheless had some outbursts this season.
In the interim, Green probably needs to demonstrate that he can play again for the Warriors and remain out of trouble before any team, including the Lakers, would think about making a trade for him.