Welcome to the first installment of the “Business Candidate Series,” a modest look at several potential business candidates that the Los Angeles Clippers could run in the next two weeks if things break juuuuuuuuuust right for them.
To be eligible for this series, players must meet a few key criteria:
- They must be eligible for extension.
- An extension with his current team has to seem somewhat iffy.
- The player in question has to fit into the Clippers’ championship window.
With that said, let’s start with the first player in the series.
At the end of last week there was talk of Anthony Slater and Marcus Thompson II of the athletic that he golden state warriors I currently have “no plans” to slip a max extension into Draymond Green’s way, making him the ideal intriguing player to push this series forward.
Or, better yet, as Slater and Thompson put it (emphasis mine):
However, all indications are that the Warriors have no plans to offer Green a maximum extension, and there is no current traction on any type of extension.. The typical pattern for this Golden State front office is to stretch out with a year left. Even Stephen Curry waited until there was a year left before signing his maximum extension last offseason. Green has two years left on the maximum extension he signed in 2019. While he could opt out a year earlier, the current preference of the Warriors is to talk about the extension with Green next summer.
The question is how Green responds. Nobody wants an unhappy Green in the locker room. He is the biggest voice on the team. His presence feels different than any other player: when he’s excited, when he’s angry, when he’s frustrated, when he’s sorry. How would he handle not being told an extension after his stellar defense anchored an unlikely run to another championship?
Well, according to Slater and Thompson, it sounds like Green is ready to “handle” this situation in a way that, well, only Draymond Green can. And that’s potentially requesting a trade (emphasis mine):
Although his desire is to remain with the Warriors, Green is said to be willing to explore his outside options to get the type of contract he wants.. That’s a risk Warriors management seems willing to take..
Green presents the Clippers with an intriguing option. He is scheduled to earn $25.8 million in 2022-23 and has a player option for the 2023-24 season worth $27.6 million. A maximum contract extension of four years, $138.7 million would effectively make him a free agent when he is 37 years old. That’s an extremely strong commitment for a player, but is it one the Clippers would be comfortable with?
After all, he has declined as a player, although sometimes it doesn’t show as much on the defensive end. And, by acquiring him, the Clippers would bring on board a 32-year-old who, while still very good, is entering the twilight of his career and will be rewarded handsomely for his past accomplishments.
Obviously, it’s hard to say what the Clippers would think about it, but the idea is tantalizing. Adding Green alongside Kawhi Leonard and Paul George would create one of the best defensive trios we’ve ever seen in basketball. It would come at a high cost, but maybe it’s one the Clippers find worthwhile.
If the Warriors and Green are far apart in negotiations by the time Green’s extension date opens, which is Aug. 3, then maybe the Clippers think they can step in, offer some players and picks and hope to pique the interest of Golden State enough to change. a deal.
It should be noted that these two teams are projected to be the best luxury tax teams in the league for the upcoming season. the The NBA recently fined Warriors owner Joe Lacob $500,000. for his comments on the league’s “very unfair” luxury tax system. If Lacob is beginning to feel the pain of repeatedly dipping into the luxury tax, then there could be a chance, however small, that he is looking for a way to ease that burden.
What would it take for Draymond Green to head approximately 400 miles south? Any deal for Green would likely involve both Marcus Morris Sr. and Luke Kennard going to The Bay. Potentially even Terance Mann, who signed a modest extension last season and now he’s eligible for trade, or Brandon Boston Jr., too. Perhaps a selection? It depends on what the Warriors want and what the Clippers feel is worth giving up to increase their championship odds next season.
But two major hurdles remain in this scenario. Well, three actually.
- Why would the Warriors send Green to a division (and championship) rival?
- Why would the Warriors want to upset Stephen Curry’s apple cart?
- Would the Clippers feel comfortable handcuffing Green until he’s 37?
While Green meets the prerequisite of fitting into the Clippers’ championship window, the price the team would pay — not just in players and picks, but also in real money they’d have to give him to sign him — might be too much of a bridge. far.
And, as far as the Warriors are concerned, it’s hard to see them appeasing Green, should he put the Clippers on their list of preferred trade destinations, and send him to a rival they have to watch four times a year in the season. regular. and potentially even more in the postseason. Then there’s the whole Stephen Curry factor.
The Warriors just won a title. It doesn’t seem plausible that they would destroy the vibes they currently have by trading with Green and rocking the boat with Curry and Klay Thompson in the process. That trio seems to be here to stay.
All of those factors combined make Draymond Green and the Clippers a marriage that only appears in long-forgotten dreams.
And let’s not forget the fun fact between the Clippers and Warriors:
The two teams haven’t traded with each other since Feb. 22, 1990. That was the day the Clippers traded two second-round picks to the Warriors for Winston Garland. The most notable part of that trade was that one of the second-round picks became Kevin Pritchard, the current president of basketball operations for the Indiana Pacers.
So yeah, it’s been a while. Don’t expect that to change either.
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