Bill Simmons thinks the Lakers and the Warriors will benefit from a trade involving Draymond Green and Austin Reaves.
This season, both the Lakers and the Warriors need to make some kind of adjustment. With a 15–17 record so far this season, the Warriors are presently ranked 11th, while the Lakers, who are the 10th seed with a 17–17 record, are only marginally better. This season, both teams have the potential to move up significantly, and Bill Simmons thinks they should work together to try to trade Draymond Green and Austin Reaves.
Austin Reaves is [trade target] of mine. For in the upcoming weeks, it is possible to make a trade involving Draymond Green and Austin Reaves. Let’s say the Lakers are about.500. Let’s assume they convince themselves of that. Does Golden State need to include [Moses] Moody in order for that to work? I simply enjoy the transaction. In theory, Draymond is not necessary for Golden State. I believe they ought to exchange him.
Though I disagree, this is a really interesting suggestion. The Lakers shouldn’t trade Reaves for someone like Green, so in the end, this would be a lose-lose situation. In a similar vein, the Warriors would regret the day they traded their starting defensive end for a streaky shooting guard who has to cover for Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson.
The Warriors would lose this trade if you followed Simmons’ advice and sent Draymond and Moses Moody to the Lakers in exchange for Austin Reaves.
Draymond is useful in the Golden State system, so it doesn’t make sense to pass him up in favor of Reaves’ offensive punch, especially if Moses Moody is also required to complete the transaction. When Draymond has been on the court this season, his averages have been 9.7 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 5.8 assists.
Even though LeBron James would be pleased to see one of his close friends, Draymond, join the team, the Lakers would not approve of this deal themselves. This arrangement benefits them since it allows them to replace Reaves’
Although Reaves averages 15.1 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 4.9 assists per game, it’s difficult to understand how the Warriors use him. The team will have Chris Paul and Reaves as backup guard options since they won’t bench Klay Thompson to play Reaves. Jonathan Kuminga now has a starting spot thanks to Draymond’s loss, but that leaves the frontcourt depth empty beyond that.
Most importantly, a deal like this cannot be made financially. The Lakers would be grossly overpaying for a player like Green who is past his prime if they were to throw someone like Rui Hachimura into the deal in order to make it financially feasible.
