Golden State Warriors: 3 reasons why a rebuild could come sooner than expected

Golden State Warriors huddle (Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports)
Golden State Warriors huddle (Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports)
2 of 4
Golden State Warriors
Golden State Warriors Draymond Green (Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports)

The uncertainty around Draymond Green, one of the team’s most important player

Say what you want about Draymond Green, but he’s historically a really good player for the Golden State Warriors. Even this season, in what statistically hasn’t been a great year for Draymond, he has one of the best net ratings on the team. The Warriors have a 4.8 positive net rating when Draymond is on the floor. That’s third-best on the team, behind Stephen Curry (5.3) and Andrew Wiggins (5.2).

He’s clearly one of the most important players on the team and his future with the team is very much up in the air. So much so that Draymond has said that the “writing is on the wall” on his impending departure from the team. The Warriors didn’t extend his contract this past offseason and the belief is that Draymond is going to test free agency this summer.

It’s understandable that the Warriors don’t want to run to give a 33-year-old (that’s probably passed his prime) a huge extension. At the same time, losing Draymond would be a huge loss for the team on the court. The Warriors are 1-5 this season when Draymond doesn’t play. They were also just 19-17 last season without him.

He matters. And losing him would mean the Warriors taking a step back.