Why do humans fear death? It’s comprehendible why we despise it since it strips us of our loved ones, but what is it about our own mortality that manifests such a high degree of angst and dread?
It’s the unknown. For all our technological advances or perceived cultural achievements, we still stand heavily in the dark on the details of life after death.
It is this fear of the unknown in a post-Draymond dynasty that continues the dedication and offerings at the altar to the demi-god of uncalculatable intangibles. The anchor of the death lineup, the defensive floor general, the passing-turret and primary facilitator, and the quote-un-quote heart of the dynasty…will the seams of the Dubs’ defense unwind into mediocrity in the absence of Draymond?
Undoubtedly, countless hours of heated debates within the Golden State front office have been spent on this very question. Within the cement-blocked walls of Oracle and the penthouse suites of Chase Center, from ownership, all the way down to the assistants of the assistant, every ideology on the topic, every logic of thought and perspective has been dissected and analyzed on the whiteboard dozens of times without a clear answer to the question.
Is the Warrior’s success dependent on one Draymond Green?
Despite several voices in the Chase Center think tank disputing this belief system, those with the loudest and most influential stakes in the franchise have doubled down on Draymond. And honestly, it’s a difficult logic to dispute…the dynasty was born upon his arrival.
Another version of history though could be written entirely differently, stating, since Steph Curry hit his prime the Warriors have been the most lethal franchise in the association. Push back on this sentiment could lend the MJ needed Pippen concept, but then where exactly does this leave splash brother Klay Thompson in the equation?
After the J-Poole punch by Dray in Dub’s practice last week, the Warriors’ fanbase stands even more divided than before. Yet, for Golden State fans who subscribe to the belief that the franchise cannot win in a post-Dray era, it’s difficult to comprehend that this belief can coincide next to the newly adopted fact that Steph Curry is an all-time top 10 talent.
They say the team with the best player usually wins the series, right? Well if there are only 9 guys in the history of the sport who are more impactful than the Baby-Faced Assassin, how is it that his success could be so heavily dependent on the inclusion or absence of the 3rd best player on his team?
It’s often been said on ESPN and FS1 that Curry is the best player on the Warriors, but Dray is the most important. If that’s true, then there is no world where Wardell Stephen Curry is in the conversation for top 10 players of all time. Ironically, if we talked about the best or most impactful rather than greatest, which usually implies legacy and accolades, much of the Warriors’ fanbase including myself have him higher than 10.
Although the great Taoist philosophers have stated All Truths are Paradoxical, these two truths simply stand at odds with one another. It’s not to say that Curry or any other tier 1 all-timer can win a title on their own, but this current Golden State Warriors squad is stacked with talent, draft equity to spend, and a 2022 Finals MVP form of Curry that many have said is in a way better than prime Steph from his unanimous regular season MVP year.
He has become what everyone has ever wished him to be and more. He’s strong enough to create contact at the rim, big enough to guard 2s at an above-average level, and most importantly proved to everyone who ever doubted him that he is now, a 4th-quarter-killer.
He is guarded and planned against even more dramatically than a prime Jordan or Shaquille O’Neal and is the offensive engine that creates more open 3’s and point-blank wide-open shots at the basket for his teammates than any other player in the history of the NBA.
If Steph is healthy, the Warriors should be the favorites to represent West with Draymond or post-Draymond in a difficult but necessary trade. There is no coming back from the sucker punch on young Jordan Poole, period—and I think anyone who has ever been sucker punched knows it.
The Devil’s advocate stance is easy to anticipate—last year in Draymond’s absence in the regular season the Dubs fell apart. They also moved Poole to the bench, Klay seemingly was trying to score all the buckets he missed out on in his injury hiatus in a single quarter, and Curry went through the worst shooting slump of his career.
In the playoffs though, when it mattered most, the stretches that won the series against the Mavericks were with Kevon Looney as the sole big on the floor. If that fact is questionable, then how and why does Steve Kerr have the audacity to bench Draymond in the 4th quarter in the Finals?
Now as great of fit as Kevon is with the Warrior’s squad, was it his elite attributes that made it possible to succeed with Dray on the bench, or was it the overwhelming greatness of one of the top 5 offensive weapons in history?
No one is saying to cut Draymond and just let him walk over to the Lakers and sign on a vet minimum. The only silver lining in the Green equation at the moment is he looked phenomenal in Japan. He’s in the best shape we’ve seen him in years, and he was a willing shooter hitting a handful of 3’s. There must be a team who lacks a defensive identity that would be willing to part with some impactful pieces to acquire Draymond.
Klay Thompson is entering his first season since the injuries with an entire off-season and training camp to prepare for war—Wiggins has just fully entered his prime and is fixated on being identified as an All-Defensive talent—Poole if not for starting so much of the season would’ve likely been the 6th man of the year and is still ascending—Looney was the number one force on the boards in Finals against a historically great defensive squad in the Celtics—the only thing that can kill this team is chemistry.
Many assume the biggest impact of a head coach is his X’s & O’s. But for them, training camp is their showcase as a mentor and a facilitator of knowledge that sets the foundation of a season and a team’s trajectory for success. Why was Kerr so upset after the leak of the video besides the breach of privacy?
The Warriors were having by all accounts one of the best offseasons Kerr has ever been a part of. In Japan, the team looked as if it had the best chemistry in the league—and Draymond with his blind pride and envy washed it all away in a single swing. All the work the team had done to grow and build this delicate yet impressive combination of high-end vet talent and youthful athleticism has now been compromised by Draymond’s assault on a teammate with his hands down in a scrimmage.
But great teams, they find a way to rise above it. This dynasty’s greatness is built upon the shoulders of 6’3” in shoes Stephen Curry. Just like any exchange, trade, or acquisition, there are no guarantees in the outcome of this gamble, but Draymond and his looming shadow of free agency must be shipped elsewhere. On the wrong side of 30 and already diminishing in impact, it was already questionable for many if giving Green a big extension was in the Warriors’ best interest.
If necessary the front office must be willing to part with future draft picks to attach to Draymond in a trade, in order to arm this squad with the best weapons possible for war and optimize the Warriors' title window.
It's a family dispute and it can definitively be overcome, and at the very least should be attempted whole heartedly. However, if it can't, then Poole, undoubtably, is the one who should be traded, not Draymond. If Greene is traded, that seismic shift in dynamics would be akin to the "jumping the shark" death knell felt by TV shows who kill off a favored character. The demise of the Warriors would be precipitous and immediate, and there would be no coming back from it either. We can't put a statistical finger on why Dray makes the Warriors better, but we know that he does. Likewise Dray would never be that impactful on another team either. His career would die and whither the moment he dons another uni. Likewise Curry might still be a statistical juggernaut, but his team would whither under the weight of mediocrity until his retirement, and poor Clay will will become a forgotten footnote in annals of the NBA. However, Jordan would thrive almost anywhere else. In fact it might be his best option. He isn't integral to the chemistry, and it's obvious that his personality is somewhat grating, at least to Draymond. Let him go and make a name for himself somewhere else if he and Dray can't put this behind them.