Warriors predicted to trade Draymond Green for ex-No. 1 pick, 2x All-Star to pair with Steph Curry originally appeared on The Sporting News.
Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Before the season began, much of the attention surrounding the Golden State Warriors was focused on Steph Curry and whether the two sides would agree to a contract extension. Curry has led the organization for well over a decade, becoming the face of the franchise.

Curry finishing his career in the Bay Area means a great deal to the Golden State organization and its fans. That's why his latest extension is so significant, as it will likely be the final one of his career.

“Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry has agreed to a two-year, $116 million contract extension, tying the franchise legend to the only organization he has ever known through his 20th NBA season, league sources told ESPN's Shams Charania on Friday. The deal includes a player option in the final season (2028-29), according to sources," ESPN's Anthony Slater wrote.

The season didn't get off to a great start for Golden State. In fact, early struggles made it appear as though the Warriors could be in for a long year. However, the team has turned things around, and some believe rookie phenom Yaxel Lendeborg has helped save the Curry era.

“Yaxel might have single-handedly saved the Steph era, like for real, and I can't tell you how good he was in this Denver game last night . . . Yaxel looked like mid-2010's LeBron in this game. I don't say that lightly because mid-2010's LeBron was awesome. They're running the offense through him. He was all over the place on defense. He was rebounding. He was initiating stuff. He was getting to the basket whenever. It was unbelievable. I couldn't believe it. I couldn't believe how good he was," Bill Simmons said.

With the Warriors looking to make another championship run alongside Curry, some believe the organization should pursue one last trip to the NBA Finals. Bleacher Report's Andy Bailey proposed a trade that would send Draymond Green, Kristaps Porziņģis and a top-four-protected 2027 first-round pick to the New Orleans Pelicans in exchange for Zion Williamson.

“Trading one health risk for another is not ideal. Surrendering a precious draft asset in the process makes it even less so. And prior to recent news on Porziņģis, Zion was arguably the biggest health risk in the league (with tongue-in-cheek apologies to KP and Joel Embiid). But in this point in their careers, Zion would represent a massive talent upgrade over Draymond. And whatever that swap would cost Golden State defensively, Williamson could offset it on the other end,” Bailey wrote.

This would certainly be an interesting deal, but it could pay off in a major way if Williamson stays healthy. It would also open a roster spot for Golden State to potentially add another player through the buyout market.

Williamson is currently playing under a $197 million contract with the Pelicans. Saying goodbye to Green wouldn't be easy, but adding a former No. 1 overall pick alongside Curry could be an opportunity the Warriors would find difficult to pass up.

More MLB news:

• Lakers predicted to trade for $125M shooting center to back up Walker Kessler in monster deal

• Thunder reportedly may waive former first-round pick after just signing him following Kings trade

• Pistons give bad Jalen Duren injury update before Sunday evening matchup with Lakers

• Warriors have reportedly already cleared out Kristaps Porzingis' locker after major career decision

https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/warriors-predicted-trade-draymond-green-105219918.html