Why Warriors Should Trade Draymond for Anthony Davis If Given Opportunity

The Golden State Warriors are likely not shopping Draymond Green before the February 5 trade deadline.

The 35-year-old is having another impactful season on defense, and though he's been struggling on offense, the team still has a slightly better offensive rating when he's on the floor, per Cleaning the Glass.

I wasn't considering writing something like this until I saw a Kevin Pelton mock trade Thursday that had the Warriors receiving Anthony Davis and Mason Plumlee as part of a four-team trade. They were sending out Green, Jonathan Kuminga, Buddy Hield and a 2026 first-round pick.

For some, this will seem like a no-brainer because Davis is better than Green. But it's not so simple.

Potential Downsides of Trading Green for Davis

The first is the big one: Davis' injury history. He missed all but one game in November with a calf strain. Last season, he missed most of February and March with an adductor strain.

He played just 36 games in 2020-21, and he played just 40 games in 2021-22.

Simply put, Green has been healthier even though he's three years older.

Next is the contract. Davis is making $54.1 million this season and $58.5 million next season, and he has a player option for $62.8 million in 2027-28.

Davis would give Golden State a third player making at least $54.1 million this season. The Warriors would have no cap flexibility for the next season-and-a-half after this trade.

Lastly, Green and Curry have been a dominant duo for years, so there's risk breaking that up even for a player as good as Davis.

Over the last six seasons, here is the yearly net rating for all lineups that include Curry and Green:

Year	Net Rating for Curry-Green Lineups
2025-26	+15.9
2024-25	+7.8
2023-24	+6.2
2022-23	+9.5
2021-22	+14.7
2020-21	+7.6

Green has assisted on countless Curry shots, and he's screen-assisted on countless more. It's not obvious that Curry will perform better with Davis even though Davis is a much more threatening offensive player who in theory will demand more defensive attention.

The Potential Upsides

There's been a shift in the NBA recently in which teams are attacking the offensive glass more, and the Warriors are having trouble with this trend.

This season, opponents are rebounding 31 percent of their misses, which is the fourth-highest rate in the league, per Cleaning the Glass.

Davis is an elite rebounder. He swallows 18.5 percent of all available rebounds, which is 6.8 percent higher than Green's mark (11.7).

Green is still the more impactful defender overall, but Davis isn't far behind, as the ex-Laker is also used to quarterbacking his defense.

On offense, Davis is a play finisher the Warriors have lacked since before their dynasty started. Defenses would have to honor his rolls to the rim in a way they don't with any other Warrior.

Drives from Curry and Jimmy Butler would suddenly be harder for opposing bigs to stop, as they have to worry about helping off Davis.

Davis is much less turnover-prone than Green, which might help the Warriors solve their turnover issues.

Davis would play center in the most important moments, but he could also play in double-big lineups with Quinten Post that could be devastating due the combination of Davis' inside scoring and Post's shooting.

Verdict: Risk Worth Taking

Now that the schedule is easing up and they are getting healthier, I'm expecting the Warriors to win at a pretty high rate for the rest of the season and move into a top-six seed. From there, they might use their playoff guile to win a round or two.

But if we're being realistic, a championship feels pretty far-fetched.

With Davis, they'd have a higher ceiling. They'd have more of an answer for Nikola Jokic, Chet Holmgren and the Rockets' front line of rebounders.

Yes, there's risk that Davis would get hurt and miss the playoffs. I understand those who think that risk is not worth taking.

But it should be noted that Davis did not miss a playoff game in 2024 or 2023. In those two playoff runs combined, he averaged 22.5 points on 55.0 percent shooting, 14.4 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 2.8 blocks, 1.1 steals and only 2.1 turnovers per game.

If the Warriors get that version of Davis, they'd be much more formidable than they are now.