Report: Executives Dish On Chances Warriors Trade Draymond Green

Early in the third quarter of the Warriors' 120-97 win over the Magic on Monday, Draymond Green and Steve Kerr got in a heated discussion in a team huddle.

Green left the bench and went to the locker room. He did not return to the game, though he did return to the bench in the fourth quarter.

After the game, Kerr said the Warriors need Green, and Green said this situation will not linger and they will move forward as a team.

But is that right approach for Golden State?

Green has been having one of the worst offensive seasons of his career.

Heavy Sports' Sean Deveney asked two executives questions related to Green and the Feb. 5 trade deadline.

Here is what they said.

Responses from Execs

Before Monday's game, Deveney talked to an Eastern Conference GM.

"He has a specific skill set that works with Steph and with Steve’s offense," the GM said. "A lot of coaches would look at what he does and say, ‘I don’t want this guy.’"

The GM continued: "I would not want him around my young players. How many of their young guys have succeeded? So you can ask, like, would they trade him? But it’s also, would anyone want him?”

Deveney asked a different exec after Monday's game if the Warriors would be much more motivated to make a trade after the Green-Kerr argument.

"I don’t think anything changes there. Obviously, if they want to make a big trade, if they want Giannis or Anthony Davis , they have to include Draymond there. That was always going to be the case. But they’re not going to look to dump him."

The exec added, “It’s a tough sell because he has a lot of backers in that organization.”

The 1 Trade That Might Make Sense

The Dallas Mavericks are 11-19. They fired their GM in November, and their new front-office group may look to sell their veterans for picks and young players who can help Cooper Flagg over the long term.

With that in mind, they may look to trade Anthony Davis.

The 10-time All-Star big man is in the first year of a three-year, $175.4 million contract. He's played in just 23 games since the Mavericks acquired him in February, which is the main reason getting him might not cost as much draft capital as one would think.

Two weeks ago, ESPN's Kevin Pelton proposed a mock trade in which the Warriors got Davis for Green, Jonathan Kuminga, Buddy Hield and a 2026 first-round pick.

I argued the Warriors should make this trade if given the chance.

Perhaps the Warriors will more seriously engage in trade talks for Davis after Monday's incident.

Probably Nothing to See Here

The Warriors have had a better net rating with Green on the court in 12 of the past 13 seasons, per Cleaning the Glass. They've been better on defense with Green on the court in all 14 seasons in his career.

As long as he improves his terrible turnover rate, he'll be plenty valuable moving forward.

And it seemed like he was beginning to do just that on Monday.

In 18 minutes, Green had just one turnover. He had nine points on 4-of-5 shooting, including three driving layups that the Warriors have been desperately needing.

As one exec said, Green has a lot of backers in the organization. They seemingly include Stephen Curry, Joe Lacob and Kerr.

Assuming Green doesn't let this argument negatively impact his play/attitude, his backers will likely continue to ride with him whether it's the right decision or not.