The Stein Line<\/a>, Jimmy Butler\u2019s contract is \u201cunlikely to be involved\u201d in a trade for the Milwaukee Bucks\u2019 superstar after Butler suffered an ACL tear earlier this month. That means Green\u2019s contract would need to be included to match salaries in a deal, along with Jonathan Kuminga, four first-round picks (2026, 2028, 2030, 2032) and one first-round swap (2031).\u00a0<\/p>\nHowever, a trade of that magnitude isn\u2019t as easy at it sounds. Initially. <\/p>\n
Green is at the center of Golden State\u2019s success. Warriors\u2019 coach Steve Kerr has long called him the \u201cheart and soul\u201d of the team. The defensive wiz was supposed to retire alongside Steph Curry,\u00a0who\u2019s widely\u00a0considered\u00a0the greatest shooter of all-time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
We already saw a member of the Warriors\u2019 Big Three leave San Francisco when Klay Thompson chose to go to Dallas in free agency in July 2024 after 13 seasons with the team amid frustrations over contract negotiations\u00a0and his diminished role.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But that was\u00a0his\u00a0choice.\u00a0<\/p>\n
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA \u2013 JANUARY 07: Giannis Antetokounmpo #34 of the Milwaukee Bucks goes up for a shot on Draymond Green #23 of the Golden State Warriors during the first half at Chase Center on January 07, 2026 in San Francisco, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and\/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ezra Shaw\/Getty Images) Getty Images<\/p>\n
Green is the Warriors just as much as Curry is the Warriors.<\/p>\n
But, the Warriors are going to do whatever it takes to acquire Antetokounmpo,\u00a0short of trading Curry. As they should. But if Green is jettisoned\u00a0in part of that deal, it would show the ugly underbelly of the business.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Green transformed himself from the 35th overall pick in the 2012 draft by Golden State to one of the best defenders in NBA history. He went from being overlooked to helping the Warriors become a dynasty, winning four championships in eight years from\u00a02015-2022.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Green is handling things like a good soldier, biting his lower lip and apparently accepting his fate, whatever that may be.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been here for 14 years,\u201d Green told reporters Friday. \u201cI have no reason to sit and worry about leaving. But if I\u2019m traded, that\u2019s part of the business. So, it is what it is. I ain\u2019t losing no sleep, though. I slept great last night.\u201d<\/p>\n
The thing is, without Green, would the Warriors even be a championship squad if they acquired Antetokounmpo?<\/p>\n
Green has selflessly accepted the role of playmaker on offense for the Warriors, while pouring out his energy on the less glamorous side of the court as a dogged defender. At 35, he may have slowed down a step, but he\u2019s able to compensate for that with his basketball IQ, which is second to none.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Losing Green would be a major hit for the Warriors, both on the court and in terms of the team\u2019s storybook journey from irrelevance to epic success. Green was at the center of it all. And he wanted to remain there until he retired.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He had earned that \u2014 until the Bucks decided Antetokounmpo was movable.\u00a0<\/p>\n
PORTLAND, OR \u2013 DECEMBER 14: Draymond Green #23 and Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors high five during the game against the Portland Trail Blazers on December 14, 2025 at the Moda Center Arena in Portland, Oregon. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2025 NBAE (Photo by Cameron Browne\/NBAE via Getty Images) NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n
All loyalty goes out the window when a generational player like that becomes available. Antetokounmpo would breathe new life into Curry\u2019s career, as well as make the Warriors a contender for years to come.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But that doesn\u2019t mean if the trade goes through \u2014 and Green is a casualty \u2014 there wouldn\u2019t be something heart-wrenching about it all.<\/p>\n
Green helped put the Warriors on the map.<\/p>\n
And now, in the blink of an eye, his tenure with the team went from being assured to hanging in the balance.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cRight now, I know just as much as you guys know,\u201d Green said Saturday on his podcast, The Draymond Green Show. \u201cI\u2019ve read what you read. I don\u2019t know. But I know it\u2019s very stressful. So, we\u2019ll see.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"We know there\u2019s no loyalty when it comes to the business of the NBA.\u00a0 That point was driven…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":573952,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3775],"tags":[7,103,200,123,164,102,121,3871,6,2828,66,573],"class_list":{"0":"post-573951","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-milwaukee-bucks","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-bucks","10":"tag-draymond-green","11":"tag-giannis-antetokounmpo","12":"tag-golden-state-warriors","13":"tag-milwaukee","14":"tag-milwaukee-bucks","15":"tag-milwaukeebucks","16":"tag-nba","17":"tag-nba-trade-deadline","18":"tag-sports","19":"tag-stephen-curry"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/115992397405570828","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/573951","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=573951"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/573951\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/573952"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=573951"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=573951"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=573951"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}