Los Angeles Lakers: Draymond Green is never coming to LA

Draymond Green recently made the same switch that Anthony Davis did prior to this season which has everyone thinking he will join the Los Angeles Lakers.

Anthony Davis has become the guy for the Los Angeles Lakers to bring in to contend for a title alongside LeBron James. Although the team struck out during the NBA Trade Deadline, many believe that the Lakers could get a deal done in the offseason.

A big reason why former New Orleans Pelicans GM Dell Demps didn’t do this move was seemingly to avoid giving Davis, and LeBron, what they wanted.

Davis and LeBron met for dinner a month before Davis’ trade requests and everything that came out to the media appeared to signal that Davis wanted to be a Laker. This speculation first started when he signed with Rich Paul of Klutch Sports Group, the same agent that represents (and is good friends with) LeBron James.

Another name has now been speculated to be a target for the Los Angeles Lakers, Draymond Green. Green recently made the exact same switch as Davis as he too is now represented by Rich Paul.

After everything that has happened surrounding Anthony Davis and the Los Angeles Lakers, it is easy to see why there is speculation around Green.

It will never happen and quite frankly it should not happen. Green should not be the second star that the Lakers are looking to add and will not be worth his potential price tag.

First of all, Draymond Green is not a free agent until the summer of 2020. Everything the Lakers have done signals that the team wants to strike no later than the summer of 2019 and waiting an entire year just for Green is not the smartest move.

It is either wait or try to get the Golden State Warriors to trade him, which will obviously never happen.

And even if the Lakers do bide their time to try and sign Green he is not going to be worth the money that he is going to demand. Green has taken a slight pay cut in Golden State to keep the team intact, making on average $16.4 million per year of his current contract.

In today’s NBA that is pretty good for a player of Green’s caliber. When he hits the free agency market, he can easily get at least $25 million per year and might even find a team foolish enough to give him a $30 million per year contract.

Not to bash on Green, as he is an all-star, but he is not really worth $30 million. He is the defensive glue of the Warriors and at times is the engine that keeps the team going, sure.

However, he has also benefitted from the Warriors success, which has made him seem better than he really is. Green is an elite defender in every right but is a fringe top-20 player at best.  You don’t win titles paying the 20th-best person in the league $30 million, especially when the Los Angeles Lakers worked so hard to get that salary cap space.

There are plenty of players in the league that is represented by Klutch Sports that do not play with LeBron James already. Draymond Green will just add to that list.