Atlanta Hawks: 4 Positives and Negatives of Potential Draymond Green Trade

The Trade

Here’s the trade as outlined in a piece by Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report:

As you can see the preliminary pieces going to Golden State are Taurean Prince and a lottery-protected 2020 first round pick.

Now, that might seem like a high price, but Green’s value will likely still be high during the offseason – especially if the Warriors three-peat as NBA champions as expected. Though Prince is four years younger than Draymond – more in line with the Atlanta Hawks’ timeline – Prince has not shown enough flashes to merit a long-term commitment to him as a member of this core.

Furthermore, Green will be a free agent in 2020, so if he doesn’t work out in Atlanta, he can immediately enter the market in the 2020 offseason as an unrestricted free agent. No harm, no foul.

Though Green’s ballbusting (literally) antics are known throughout the league, he strikes me as a player that is adored by the fans of whatever team he’s playing for (i.e. the Warriors his whole career) but reviled by opposing fanbases.

Usually those players are irritants that tend to make big plays that swing games, series and seasons (think Draymond, Patrick Beverley or Marcus Smart). Wouldn’t it be nice to have a player such as that who can back it up with multiple championships on this young roster?

Let’s take a look at some positives and negatives of making such a trade for Draymond.