“Could have been trash” – Green’s disrespectful take on the Warriors’ former trade target

Draymond Green continues to support the Golden State Warriors every step of the way, even if it doesn't necessarily make sense.

It's an admirable quality for the veteran forward that general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. continues to praise for the way he has built this current Warrior roster. Although there are a number of reasons for such praise, Green sometimes goes a little too far.

The 34-year-old was asked again about his team's offseason in a recent interview with ESPN's Ohm Youngmisuk. In it, Green claimed that the signing of Lauri Markkanen “may have been rubbish” after intense speculation in July and early August about a possible move for the Utah Jazz forward.

“By the way, that could have been rubbish. Markkanen is coming here, we don’t know.” Green said. “We've never seen it before. So there was no thought of what could have been because we don’t know what that looks like.”

The Warriors also didn't have De'Anthony Melton, Kyle Anderson and Buddy Hield in their system, but felt comfortable adding them in the offseason. Of course, this trio simply required offering contracts rather than giving up assets, but the point remains that any potential addition is just a projection of what they could be.

We can argue forever about what and/or who Golden State should have given up for Markkanen, and honestly the outcome won't be known for several years. But to suggest that the addition of Markkanen “could have been garbage” is confusing and, frankly, disrespectful to who he is as a player.

Markkanen has averaged at least 23.2 points in each of the last two seasons while shooting over 39% from three-point range while also grabbing over rebounds per game. Plus, he previously made just $18 million this season before renegotiating his contract, meaning the Warriors wouldn't have completely lost their strength.

When you combine Markkanen's individual quality, his contract and his particular fit with Golden State as a six-foot sharpshooter, it's almost impossible to imagine how it could have been garbage if it wasn't due to injury. In summary, the cost of young players and future picks drove the Warriors into ruin in a few years after Green and Stephen Curry, but even then, Markkanen is only 27 and should still have many years in his prime.

Even though the Warriors have a 3-1 record so far, it's hard to imagine that they couldn't be better in the short term with Markkanen, let alone that idea of ​​”trash” that Green talks about.