Draymond Green pushes back against rumors saying he prefers trade to Lakers

Dec 3, 2022 - 5:00 PM

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As things were going awry in Golden State during the preseason, Draymond Green’s future seemed about as up-in-the-air as it ever has. His fight with Jordan Poole had thrown things into disarray and everything seemed on the table, including a potential trade.

At the time, reports stated that if Draymond was to be traded, he preferred a move to the Lakers, a team he has plenty of ties through Klutch. Ultimately, things settled down and Green doesn’t seem set for an exit via trade at least.

On Friday, Green sat down with Marc Spears of Andscape and ESPN to talk about a variety of topics, including those Lakers links.

I never said that. People can say what they want. I’m also not really one to react much to what one may say. I react to things when I want to react to it. I don’t react to things just because somebody said it.

In reality, the links to the Lakers always felt very hypothetical, specifically with how it was reported. Stephen A. Smith is hardly a reliable reporter, especially as he has transitioned into a talking head.

And the logistics of a trade never made sense either. The Warriors would have no interest in Westbrook, meaning it’d have to be a three-team deal. It never really felt like anything that could realistically happen.

Having said all that, there is still plenty of smoke to the idea that Green could come to the Lakers. As things stand, he will enter free agency this offseason. And as things stand, the Lakers have a very large contract in Russell Westbrook’s coming off the books that would open up cap space.

It would not be entirely surprising if Draymond ended up as a Laker. He’s friends with LeBron (and is ready to skip a Warriors game to watch LeBron break the all-time scoring record). He’s a Klutch client. He’s still a useful enough player, even if he’s also diminishing. But the Warriors still feel like the leaders in the clubhouse and it’s going to take a lot to unseat them.

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