Getty Image / Thearon W Henderson
The Golden State Warriors appeared to finally pick a side in the drama between Draymond Green and Jordan Poole when they traded Poole to the Wizards this offseason.
Unfortunately, there’s kind of a big issue with the side they chose.
Draymond isn’t actually on their roster anymore after he decided to opt out of his player option for the 2023-24 NBA season.
With Draymond hitting free agency this summer, there are already a few teams eyeing a move for the long-time Warriors star.
According to Yahoo’s Jake Fischer, the Portland Trail Blazers, Detroit Pistons, and Sacramento Kings are all expected to pursue Draymond Green this offseason.
Fresh intel notebook just dropped @YahooSports. The forward market is crowded after John Collins' trade to Utah, including Indiana, Orlando, Sacramento. The latest on Kyle Kuzma and KJ Martin. Plus other dominos teams are waiting to see fall in succession: https://t.co/xW7AiAj1CX
— Jake Fischer (@JakeLFischer) June 27, 2023
The Kings are obviously the team on that list with the most to gain by signing Draymond. They are coming off of a season where they won a loaded Pacific division and earned the 3rd seed in the West.
Unfortunately, they ran into Draymond and the Warriors in round 1 of the playoffs and were eliminated in 7 games.
If he signed in Sacramento, he’d bring some veteran leadership to a very young squad and he’d also improve the defense of a team that gave up the league’s 6th most points last season.
The Blazers are also trying to put together a contender this offseason as they attempt to keep Damian Lillard around. They weren’t able to trade the 3rd overall pick to get a star this offseason, but signing Draymond might show Lillard they’re serious about trying to win,
The Pistons are a surprising inclusion on the list after they finished 5 games worse than any other NBA team last season. They have some nice young pieces, but are still a long way from contending.
The most likely outcome still seems to be that Draymond Green will head back to the Golden State Warriors, but they’ll face some competition for his signature.