Draymond Green on whether Warriors would mortgage future to win now: ‘Bad teams do that’

DETROIT – The Golden State Warriors have gone from a team on a hot streak to a middling team struggling to find the right formula to get back into the mix of Western Conference contenders.

Around the league, many wonder if the team’s front office and ownership have the guts to make the necessary personnel moves to surround four-time champions Stephen Curry and Draymond Green with a realistic shot at a fifth title.

Somewhat surprisingly, Green is in lockstep with the way the Warriors have handled things. Despite overtures to the likes of Paul George over the summer, they have stayed the course as opposed to going all-in on any strategy.

“The beautiful part about being in the space that we’re in is that Steve Kerr, Steph Curry and I all disagree with mortgaging the future of this organization and saying we’re going for it right now,” Green told Yahoo Sports Thursday night following the Warriors’ 107-104 win over Detroit.

“Bad teams do that. Bad organizations do that. We’re none of those.”

On Thursday, Curry had one of his worst games of the season, going 5-for-21 from the field and missing 12 of his 14 3-pointers. But reserves Gui Santos and Lindy Waters III combined for seven triples, 24 points and seven rebounds, leading to a postgame celebration that revealed it was a Game of 82.

The Warriors once touted the famous “two timelines,” keeping their vets as headliners while hoping their youth could step up the cause and thus keep them in the mix. The Warriors won the 2022 title with strong contributions from Jordan Poole – a surprise, it must be said, for the young core they planned to invest in.

But Poole is gone and traded for one season of Chris Paul. James Wiseman, the second overall pick in 2020, didn’t come out in the Bay Area or elsewhere so far. Moses Moody has shown signs, but has struggled to find a regular spot in the rotation. The only one who has really shown true promise has been Jonathan Kuminga, who is in his second season as a second option, but even he has struggled to fit perfectly in Kerr’s offensive system.

For his part, Green is a supporter of Kuminga and even came off the bench for a couple of games to help the 22-year-old acclimatise. If the Warriors are to make a significant deal, it will likely have to involve Kuminga, as they have not agreed to a contract extension with him.

“So for us, if something’s going to happen, it’s got to be the right thing,” Green said. “We’re not going to jump and make the wrong decision because we panicked. That’s how you set your organization back five to seven years.”

With the new, highly restrictive collective bargaining agreement put in place over the last two years, it completely discourages teams from making big money, long cash moves, essentially prohibiting them from using exceptions and picking up players for one player if they are in the second apron.

It sounds like Green is well aware of the franchise penalties, or at least has come to terms with the way the Warriors will move forward. That’s why interest in disgruntled Heat star Jimmy Butler seems tepid at this point. The only move the Warriors have made so far has been to trade with the Brooklyn Nets for Dennis Schröder a week before Christmas.

Schröder’s contract expires after this season — further proof of how delicately the Warriors have handled this.

“We’re still going to compete at the highest level,” Green told Yahoo Sports. “We’re still going to do everything we can to win, but I don’t know a single person who’s been in the NBA for a long time who’s won every year. So you’re not auctioning off your future because you’re not winning in a mentioned year or two.”

Their 12-3 start was immediately followed by a 3-12 stretch that brought them right back to .500. Green, for his part, is still effective. He is shooting 36 percent from 3-point range and is averaging nearly six assists and over six rebounds.

But he admitted it is not easy to turn up his usual intensity and said he is regaining his edge after a rut. Even after the victory in Detroit, he would not make a boastful claim that all is well – it was only a small step in the right direction.

“I told them it’s all my fault,” he told reporters Thursday. “I’ve got to get my edge back, and then we’ll get our edge back, you know? So when you have those times where you need to address the team, if you can’t address where you’re failing, there nobody listens to you.”

Even Curry has experienced a slide at age 36, and if the Warriors are going to do well, they’ll probably need to sign someone to make the game easier for Curry. Otherwise, they’ll continue on the path they’ve been on since winning their fourth title — winning just one playoff series since then and losing in the play-in tournament to Sacramento last April.

“You have to continue to build. And for us, that will always be the focus,” said Green. “It will never be, ‘Something goes wrong.’ Make the dumbest move you can make.’ We are not that organization.”

He envisions a day when he’s retired and still an active part of a thriving franchise — not one ashamed of moves it made out of desperation — like connective tissue.

“When I’m done, when Steph’s done, I want us to come back, when Steve’s done, I want us to come back, sit on the field and talk so much s*** to everybody,” Green said. “Because our organization, our team, is so good.”