The Golden State Warriors have to address a few areas during the offseason, and the center position is certainly one of them. After being dominated by Steven Adams during their first-round series against the Houston Rockets, despite winning the series, the Warriors have to get to work.
In a proposed trade idea from Greg Swartz of Bleacher Report, Golden State would find the perfect center, adding that even if the Warriors have to trade Draymond Green for the player, it might be what has to be done. The trade idea would land Domantas Sabonis of the Sacramento Kings.
“Sabonis would be the perfect third star for the Golden State Warriors, even if it meant trading Draymond Green in order to get him.
“The 29-year-old has led the NBA in rebounding for three years in a row, is the league’s second-best passing big man after Nikola Jokić and shot 41.7 percent from three this season. Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler and Sabonis would give head coach Steve Kerr a ton of offensive options,” he wrote.
Bad Blood Between Green and Sabonis
Trading Green in a deal for Sabonis might be what has to happen for all parties to be happy. Remember now, Green stepped on Sabonis’ chest during the Golden State Warriors playoff series against the Sacramento Kings in 2023.
Sabonis later added that night that there’s no room for that in the game, throwing a direct shot at Green, who certainly shouldn’t have done that.
“When I fell, I was protecting myself, and then the incident happened,” Sabonis said, per ESPN. “There is no room for that in our game today.”
Green later added that his leg got grabbed, and it was the second time in two nights that he had to deal with that.
“My leg got grabbed — the second time in two nights — and the referee is just watching. I got to land my foot somewhere, and I’m not the most flexible person, so it’s not stretching that far. … I can only step so far with someone pulling my leg away.”
Has Sabonis Moved Past His Warriors Beef?
Whether one was right or wrong is up to anybody to decide, but the Golden State Warriors have to hope that their prior relationship with Sabonis can be forgiven.
When speaking earlier in 2024, Sabonis admitted that he believes he and Green are on decent terms. He said there isn’t any bad beef, and both of them are just two hard competitors who want to win games at the highest level.
“I think so. I think we’re cool,” Sabonis told Eisen. “There’s not bad beef. It’s not what the media thinks. We’re just two competitors…fighting for a playoff win.”
Sabonis is in a tough situation with the Sacramento Kings, but he’d be a decent fit with the Golden State Warriors. There’s reason to believe his offensive skill set could fit with the Warriors, especially as a big who can pass the way he does.
He averaged 13.9 rebounds and 19.1 points, something that would instantly fit in most offenses.
Sabonis might not be the best defensively, but at only 29 years old, this could be a player the Warriors look at in the short and long term.
