Would The Lakers Take A Chance On Draymond Green In Free Agency This Summer?

The four-time champ has a player option for next season.

One season removed from the team's NBA Finals triumph, Golden State Warriors power forward Draymond Green has had a very up-and-down 2022-23 run thus far.

A year removed from the title, Golden State finished as the Western Conference's sixth seed with a middling 44-38 record, but was still favored to win its first round matchup with the third-seeded Sacramento Kings (48-34), making their return to the playoffs following a 16-season absence.

When Green punched teammate Jordan Poole in the face during training camp last fall, rumors swirled that the 6'6" vet might not be long for the Warriors, and might in fact find his way to LA somehow. Green himself was relatively noncommittal in gently shutting down that chatter. He was suspended from a few preseason games, but returned in time for the start of the year, albeit with the team chemistry now on shaky ground.

Green was one of the more consistently available players among the Warriors' main stars, though he is no longer quite the defensive behemoth he was in his peak. The reigning Finals MVP, 35-year-old point guard Stephen Curry, appeared in just 56 games this season, putting up stellar numbers when he was available. Small forward Andrew Wiggins, probably the second-best player on the team at this point, was available for just 37 contests as a result of injuries and family issues. Shooting guard Klay Thompson started off ice-cold before rounding back into sharpshooting form midway through the year.

Following an underwhelming regular season in which Los Angeles finished with a miserable 11-30 road record, the team has now lost the first two games of its series with Sacramento, on the road. This marks the first time since 2007 that Golden State has gone down 0-2 in a playoff series.

Green has supplied his typical defensive aplomb and passing acumen throughout the series, but tensions between Green and, well, the entirety of the Sacramento team and fanbase, boiled over last night. 

After getting into a fourth quarter tussle with All-Star Kings center Domantas Sabonis, the 6'11" big man grabbed Green's foot. Green responded by kicking his way free, and then stepping, heavily, onto Sabonis' chest, to the point where he had to undergo imaging postgame. The results were happily negative. Sabonis was assessed a tech for his role in the fracas, while Green was appraised with a flagrant foul and kicked out of the contest, which his Warriors lost without him, 114-106.

Individually, Green has performed fairly well this year. Across 73 regular season games this season, the 2023 All-Defensive Team candidate (a previous seven-time honoree) averaged 8.5 points on .527/.305/.713 shooting splits, 7.2 rebounds, and 6.8 assists, all relatively in line with the four-time All-Star's career averages.

If the Warriors do go on to lose this series, will their front office opt for a drastic makeover? Will Green even want to opt in to his $27,586,225 player option for next year? Or will he opt to travel south, and join his friend LeBron James' Los Angeles Lakers, currently leading their own playoff series with the Memphis Grizzlies 1-0?

Certainly there does seem to be at least some mutual respect. Earlier this season, Green praised his friend James as the "greatest face" of the league. He remains a stellar defender and passer, though his scoring and shooting have taken something of a nosedive in recent years. If he can reign in some of his pro wrestler-esque tendencies, he remains a valuable player. The real question is his price tag. 

LA only technically has stars James and Anthony Davis, starting power forward Jarred Vanderbilt, and current rookie shooting guard Max Christie under contract next season. It also holds player options on reserve swingman Malik Beasley (probably a keeper despite his slightly expensive $16.5 million team option), deep-bench 3-and-D center Mo Bamba (who, having fallen out of the team's rotation in the playoffs, seems doomed), and new point guard Shaquille Harrison. 

The team also has big free agent decisions to make on starting point guard D'Angelo Russell and starting shooting guard Austin Reaves, plus reserves Rui Hachimura and Wenyen Gabriel.

Where would Draymond Green fall into the mix for LA? The team would likely need to relinquish its grip on Beasley, and would probably reconsider retaining Hachimura. Green would further cramp the spacing on a team contingent on two stars who are below-average long range shooters. Team president Rob Pelinka would need to determine that Green, warts and all, was a good fit on a club hoping to compete with this Davis/James core in the immediate future?

How far Los Angeles goes in this postseason may also impact this decision.

Personally, I think adding Green is a bit of a risk. He's 33, now has a history of not getting along with multiple teammates (remember his fight with Kevin Durant on the eve of Durant's own free agency?), and may clog up the Lakers' cap space an inordinate amount compared with his on-court contributions. This current LA team, despite its middling 43-39 record (mostly incurred prior to a series of helpful trades), is pretty darn good. Jarred Vanderbilt can approximate a lot of Green's defense, while the team has a variety of very capable passers already.

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