Warriors Joe Lacob and Draymond Green
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Golden State Warriors team owner Joe Lacob gives Draymond Green #23 his 2017-2018 Championship ring.
Golden State Warriors owner Joe Lacob moved forcefully this week to quiet lingering questions surrounding the franchise’s failed pursuit of Giannis Antetokounmpo, publicly backing general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. after he drew criticism for denying that franchise cornerstone Draymond Green had been offered in trade talks.
“He was never discussed in a trade; Mike was 100% correct what he said,” Lacob told Tim Kawakami of The San Francisco Standard. “I know he got a lot of crap for that. And it did look defensive. I mean, I think he would say that in retrospect. … But I can tell you he was never shopped in any way.”
Lacob went further, reinforcing Green’s status as foundational to the organization.
“He’s a core person in our franchise,” Lacob said. “You don’t trade a Draymond Green simply or easily. You do it if you have to, and you’re getting tremendous value and you’re improving your team. Even Draymond has said he understands that. … But his name was never specifically discussed with another team. And that’s the truth.”
Warriors Trade Deadline Tension Comes Into Focus
The owner’s comments revisited a tense moment at the NBA trade deadline, when Dunleavy bristled at questions about Golden State’s high-profile but ultimately unsuccessful pursuit of Antetokounmpo.
During his post-deadline press conference, Dunleavy sharply rejected the premise that Green had been part of negotiations with the Milwaukee Bucks.
“Well, you’re putting words in my mouth,” Dunleavy said at the time. “That’s an unbelievable assumption.”
When pressed on whether Jimmy Butler had been discussed, if Green was not, Dunleavy shut down the line of questioning altogether.
“No, no, no,” he 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.”
The exchange underscored the pressure facing Golden State at the deadline, as the core responsible for four NBA championships since 2015 continues to age and the margin for extending the dynasty narrows.
Warriors GM Attempts to Clarify the Record
Earlier in that same availability, Dunleavy acknowledged the swirl of speculation surrounding Green’s name, while insisting it had crossed no meaningful threshold.
“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.”
He stressed that Green’s place with the Warriors was never seriously in jeopardy.
“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.”
Dunleavy also acknowledged that the speculation may have landed differently on Green than in previous seasons.
“When stuff comes up in the media, it feels different for players,” he said. “I think that’s the first time it happened for Draymond.”
Green Tells a Different Story
Green’s own account painted a more complicated picture. Speaking on The Draymond Green Show, the veteran forward acknowledged that Giannis-related discussions created real uncertainty.
“When you’re not winning, everything becomes possible,” Green said.
He described conversations with Dunleavy and head coach Steve Kerr that, while not definitive, forced him to confront the possibility of a future outside Golden State.
“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 detailed the emotional toll of that uncertainty — from imagining relocation to considering his family’s future — before concluding that repeatedly facing such scenarios was not something he wanted long-term.
Salary Math and the Giannis Trade Framework
NBA insider Marc Stein previously reported that Golden State’s conceptual framework for Antetokounmpo 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 theoretical path to preserving Green in any deal structure.
Ultimately, the Bucks opted to retain Antetokounmpo, forcing Golden State to pivot rather than escalate talks further.