It’s safe to say that Draymond Green has a lot of influence inside the Golden State Warriors organization. Green has been the heart and soul of the Warriors’ defense since 2014, helping win four NBA championships.
According to ESPN’s Anthony Slater, Green advised the Warriors ownership and front office against trading for Lauri Markkanen in the summer of 2024. The franchise was looking for another star after Klay Thompson left in free agency to sign with the Dallas Mavericks.
While Markkanen seemed like a perfect fit in Golden State, the Utah Jazz were looking to get as many young players and draft picks as possible. Green wasn’t going to let Joe Lacob and Mike Dunleavy Jr. risk the Warriors’ future for a one-time All-Star.
“I’m a big fan of (Markkanen’s) game. But I think if you want to do something so huge, you better be certain that this is the move. You usually don’t win those things against Danny Ainge. I look at history,” Green said.
Green was alluding to Ainge’s reputation of “fleecing other” teams. He did it to the Brooklyn Nets in the early 2010s, then turned Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert into a huge stash of players and picks in 2022.
Warriors Traded for Jimmy Butler
The Warriors waited patiently and even had a fantastic start to last season because of their depth. However, they eventually struggled and were just a .500 team midway through the campaign.
At last season’s trade deadline, the Warriors acquired Jimmy Butler from the Miami Heat and signed him to a two-year, $121 million extension. They went on an incredible 23-8 run to end the regular season. They advanced to the second round of the playoffs, falling short against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Warriors played without Steph Curry for the majority of that series because of injury. Jimmy Butler wasn’t himself after suffering his own injury in the first round. Nevertheless, the franchise endured a long contract stalemate with Jonathan Kuminga this summer.
They finally agreed on an extension during training camp, leading to the addition of Al Horford and De’Anthony Melton. Gary Payton II was also brought back, while Seth Curry is expected to get signed this November.
While there are concerns about the age of Golden State’s best players, Horford, who is 39, wasn’t too worried about it, as reported by Dan Dempster of NBC Sports Bay Area.
Green Has Bet With Butler This Season
To liven up the new season, Draymond Green made a bet with Jimmy Butler regarding his free throw percentage. CBS Sports’ Robby Kalland reported that Butler believes he can have a better percentage at the charity stripe this season than Steph Curry.
“I got a bet with, I don’t think it’s a bad bet, but it’s kind of a bad bet, with Dray that I got to shoot a better percentage than number 30 on our team,” Butler said.
Butler is an84.3% career shooter from the free-throw line, while Curry is the NBA’s all-time leader in career free-throw percentage at 91.1%. The greatest shooter ever also led the league in the same category last season at 93.3%.
Butler was off to a good start in the Warriors’ season opener against the Los Angeles Lakers. He had 31 points and went 16-for-16 from the free-throw line in their 119-109 road win. Curry was also a perfect 8-for-8, so it’s a close battle to begin the season.
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