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If the Golden State Warriors include Draymond Green in a trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo, he would like to play with LeBron and the Lakers.
Tension surfaced publicly for the Golden State Warriors at the trade deadline when general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. forcefully rejected the premise of questions surrounding the team’s failed pursuit of Giannis Antetokounmpo.
During Dunleavy’s post-deadline news conference, a reporter asked whether Draymond Green had been involved in trade discussions with the Milwaukee Bucks, prompting a sharp response from the Warriors’ lead decision-maker.
“Well, you’re putting words in my mouth,” Dunleavy said. “That’s an unbelievable assumption.”
When pressed further on whether Jimmy Butler had been part of any such talks if Green was not, Dunleavy shut the line of questioning down.
“No, no, no,” Dunleavy said. “We’re not doing that. I’m not going on the roster, talking about who’s in trades and who’s not. We don’t do that.”
A Deadline That Reflected Growing Pressure on the Warriors
The tense exchange underscored what had become one of the most challenging trade deadlines of the Warriors’ dynasty era. Golden State’s championship core — responsible for four NBA titles since 2015 — is aging, and the organization entered the deadline facing mounting pressure to either extend its window or begin a difficult transition.
While the Warriors explored the market aggressively, the franchise ultimately fell short of landing a transformational star, leaving the spotlight on Dunleavy’s handling of both the process and the messaging that followed.
Dunleavy: Draymond Green Was Never Truly in Play
Earlier in the same availability, Dunleavy attempted to clarify reports suggesting Green had been offered in Giannis-related talks.
“I’ve walked that back a little bit,” Dunleavy said. “His name was not in conversations other than the ones where teams call me and ask about him, which they do every year. So nothing’s new there.”
Dunleavy stressed that Green’s status with the Warriors was never seriously threatened.
“The idea that he stayed with the Warriors past the deadline was greatly exaggerated,” Dunleavy said. “It was never, never a possibility of him not being here — remotely close to me — and I’ve conveyed that to him.”
He also acknowledged that the scale of speculation may have weighed differently on Green than in past seasons.
“When stuff comes up in the media, it feels different for players,” Dunleavy said. “I think that’s the first time it happened for Draymond.”
Draymond Green Offers a More Complicated Account
Dunleavy’s characterization stands in contrast to Green’s own description of events.
Speaking on The Draymond Green Show, the veteran forward acknowledged that Giannis-related conversations created genuine uncertainty about his future.
“When you’re not winning, everything becomes possible,” Green said. He detailed conversations with head coach Steve Kerr and Dunleavy that, while not definitive, left him unsettled.
Green said Dunleavy discussed hypothetical frameworks and acknowledged that a deal for Antetokounmpo would have required one of the Warriors’ largest contracts.
“If we were to do a deal for Giannis, you or Jimmy would have to be in the trade just to make it work,” Green said. “He didn’t rule it out.”
Green described the emotional spiral that followed, from imagining relocation to considering his family’s future, before concluding he did not want to repeatedly face that uncertainty.
Reports Outlined a Costly Giannis Framework
NBA insider Marc Stein previously reported that Golden State’s conceptual framework in Giannis discussions included Green, Jonathan Kuminga, Milwaukee native Brandin Podziemski, and significant draft capital.
From a salary-matching standpoint, Green’s $25.9 million contract combined with Kuminga’s $23.8 million salary would have brought the Warriors close to Antetokounmpo’s $54.1 million figure. Butler’s $54.1 million salary, however, represented the cleanest path for Golden State to preserve Green in any theoretical structure.
Ultimately, the Bucks opted to retain Antetokounmpo, forcing the Warriors to pivot rather than push further.
Warriors Move Forward as Summer Questions Loom
With the deadline behind them, Golden State remains intact — but the episode revealed the growing tension between transparency, loyalty, and ambition inside a franchise navigating the twilight of its dynasty.
Dunleavy’s public stance aimed to shut down speculation. Green’s candid account suggested the process felt far more real internally.
As the Warriors turn toward the offseason, those differing perspectives could influence not only future roster decisions, but also how the franchise balances its past, present and an increasingly uncertain future — particularly if trade conversations surrounding Antetokounmpo resurface in the offseason.