‘Next team’ for Warriors’ Draymond Green could be Kings, Clippers, Pistons, Thunder, Suns
After 11 seasons with the Golden State Warriors, Draymond Green is one of several high-profile players who could be on the move this summer.
Sacramento might seem like an unlikely destination following Green’s run-in with the Kings in a contentious first-round playoff series, but oddsmakers don’t see it that way.
SportsBetting.ag, a leading online sportsbook, has created “next team” odds for 10 players who could find new homes next season. The site is listing Sacramento as the most likely landing spot for Green, a former NBA Defensive Player of the Year who, along with Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, helped the Warriors win four championships in eight years.
The Kings are considered 4-1 favorites to acquire the veteran forward if the Warriors part ways with Green. The Kings are followed by the Los Angeles Clippers (5-1), Detroit Pistons (6-1), Oklahoma City Thunder (6-1) and Phoenix Suns (6-1). Other potential suitors include the Miami Heat (7-1), Milwaukee Bucks (8-1), Philadelphia 76ers (8-1), Portland Trail Blazers (8-1), Dallas Mavericks (9-1), Toronto Raptors (9-1), Boston Celtics (10-1) and Los Angeles Lakers (16-1).
Green, 33, is a four-time All-Star and eight-time All-Defensive Team honoree with four First Team selections and four Second Team selections. Kings coach Mike Brown, who spent six seasons as Steve Kerr’s lead assistant with the Warriors, often speaks highly of Green’s abilities as a defender and playmaker.
Green averaged 8.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, 6.8 assists and 1.0 steals in 73 games for the Warriors this season. He posted averages of 9.5 points, 6.2 rebounds, 8.0 assists and 2.0 steals in a seven-game playoff series against the Kings.
Green appeared in six of those games after being suspended one game for stomping on the chest of Kings center Domantas Sabonis in Game 2. Green also got into a confrontation with Kings point guard De’Aaron Fox when he returned from suspension in Game 4 and hit rookie Keegan Murray in the eye immediately after checking into the game.
Green could help a Kings team that finished 24th in defensive rating (116.0) this season, but offensively he would be a questionable fit for a team that has prioritized shooting around Fox and Sabonis.
Green has a player option for $27.6 million next season in the final year of a four-year, $99.7 million contract. Green clearly stated his desire to stay with Golden State after the Warriors lost to the Lakers in six games in the Western Conference semifinals, but keeping the team’s current core intact will be difficult with payroll and luxury tax payments expected to approach $500 million.
