If Warriors decide to trade Draymond Green, Lakers would be ideal partner

The Warriors’ Draymond Green is currently under an indefinite suspension for striking Suns’ Jusuf Nurkic, adding to a series of incidents over the past 18 months, including an altercation with then-teammate Jordan Poole. Despite recently signing a four-year, $100 million contract extension, there’s speculation that Golden State might consider trading him if such behavior persists.

According to an anonymous league executive speaking to Heavy on Sport’s Sean Deveney, the Los Angeles Lakers could be an ideal trade partner. The executive suggested that LeBron James might be effective in keeping Green in check, potentially addressing any concerns about his on-court behavior.

“If you were to get him out of Golden State, there’s really only one team that could possibly trade for him. That’s the Lakers,” The executive told Deveney. “No one else could really handle what he’s bringing. LeBron James could. Draymond has been kissing up to LeBron for a couple of years now…It’s not just the on-court stuff and the fights and all of that. But the contract. The approach—there are not a lot of teams he would want to play for. All of that. Our team, our owner, we could not handle a Draymond Green trade. Most people would say that same thing. The Lakers could handle it, though. I doubt they want to. But they could.”

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Draymond Green has been a crucial part of the Warriors’ core for over a decade, making it unlikely for the front office to consider moving on from him unless deemed necessary. If such a decision were made, the Lakers could be a plausible destination, given Green’s well-documented friendship with LeBron James.

Green, when at his best, is recognized as a generational defensive talent. A potential move to the Lakers could swiftly re-establish a championship mindset within their locker room, aiding LeBron in the pursuit of another championship ring. However, it remains doubtful that the Warriors would trade Green to a championship rival unless they were entering a rebuilding phase, though unexpected NBA scenarios do occur.