The Golden State Warriors should be open to trading Draymond Green this summer.
If Golden State is serious about re-tooling its roster to give Stephen Curry one more chance at a title, cutting ties with Green is a necessary evil. The Warriors simply don’t have the cap space to add impact pieces if they keep Green, Curry, and Jimmy Butler on the payroll.
If Golden State can move Green’s $25.9 million 2025-26 salary in a blockbuster trade to enhance their championship odds, they must do so.
But it won’t be easy to convince a team to give up a star player for a package centered around Draymond, who at 35 is still a playoff asset but won’t be for much longer. The Warriors would definitely have to use their first-round draft picks in 2029 and 2031 as sweeteners.
Take a look at the following three-team trade proposal. Golden State would be reuniting Butler with his running mate from the Miami Heat, Bam Adebayo.
Warriors receive…
- Bam Adebayo
- Duncan Robinson (expiring)
Heat receive…
- Jamal Murray
- Jonathan Kuminga (sign-and-trade)
- Zeke Naji
- Jalen Pickett
Nuggets receive…
- Draymond Green
- Buddy Hield
- Moses Moody
- Kevin Love (expiring)
- Haywood Highsmith (expiring)
- 2025 No. 20 pick (MIA)
- 2029 first-rounder (GSW)
- 2031 first-rounder (GSW)
Is this trade plausible? The Kuminga sign-and-trade aspect of the deal might have to officially be logged in a separate trade, but financially, the entire above exchange would work for all three teams involved.
Follow The Sporting News on WhatsApp
The next question, of course, is, ‘Would all three teams be interested in this deal?’
Golden State would be a go. Giving up Green, Kuminga, Hield, Moody, and two future firsts is quite a sacrifice, but it would be worth it to acquire Adebayo, one of the league’s best big men in his prime who would form a championship-capable Big 3 with Curry and Butler.
Adebayo is also young enough (27) to become Golden State’s centerpiece in the post-Curry era.
The Heat would hesitate strongly to move Adebayo — their best player — but then they might realize that their current roster built around Adebayo and Tyler Herro isn’t going anywhere, even in a weak East. Snagging a potential future star in Kuminga would give Miami a new direction, and pairing Jamal Murray with Herro in the backcourt could have explosive results, keeping Miami in the playoff picture as they continue to re-tool. Murray could also be swapped at a later date for draft capital or young talent if the experiment failed.
Additionally, moving off of Duncan Robinson’s contract a year early is reportedly a priority for the Heat, and this trade would allow them to do that.
Then we have the Nuggets, who would be deciding to end the Murray-Nikola Jokić era. While Denver might be reluctant to split up a duo that won a title together in 2023, Murray hasn’t been quite the same player since that championship run. Trading him before his value depreciates further could be a savvy move, and in this deal, the Nuggets would be addressing one of their biggest issues: depth. Green, Hield, and Moody would give the Nuggets three really solid rotational pieces (Love and Highsmith aren’t out of the question for 2025-26, either).
Then there’s the massive draft capital Denver would be acquiring in lieu of not snagging a superstar player in this deal. With the No. 20 pick in a loaded 2025 draft, the Nuggets could get a really good player; they could also package that pick with other assets to move up in the draft even higher. The two first-rounders from Golden State in 2029 and 2031 promise to be valuable, too.
Bam in Golden State. Heat and Nuggets re-tools. Who says no?
More NBA: Mavs predicted to fire Nico Harrison, trade $175.4 million star to Hornets