The Sacramento Kings were one of the 2022-23 NBA season’s best stories.
After nearly two decades out of the playoffs, this bunch of Kings busted that streak and put up a historically great offensive rating.
With almost no playoff experience to speak of (at least relative to their first-round opponent), they pushed the defending champion Golden State Warriors to seven games.
And now, the proverbial heart and soul of that Warriors suddenly seems like a very real target for Sacramento.
After unloading Richaun Holmes to the Dallas Mavericks, the Kings emerged from Thursday night’s draft with the ability to get to over $30 million in cap space while still having all of De’Aaron Fox, Domantas Sabonis, Kevin Huerter, Malik Monk and Keegan Murray under contract for 2023-24.
Plugging Green into the spot potentially vacated by unrestricted free agent Harrison Barnes makes enough sense that multiple reporters and media personalities are making the connection.
On ESPN, Brian Windhorst referred to Kings coach Mike Brown (formerly an assistant with the Warriors) as a “Draymond Whisperer” and added, “With this cap space, [the Kings] can blow what Golden State would want to pay out of the water.”
And Windhorst wasn’t the only well-connected media personality to opine on a potential Green-to-Sacramento deal.
“Draymond Green is a free agent,” The Athletic’s John Hollinger wrote.
“The Warriors have to be sweating right now, at the very least, because there is now a highly plausible rival Green bidder on the market.”
Like Windhorst, Hollinger was referring to the upstart Kings, who could easily justify a hefty contract for Green to start with Fox, Huerter, Murray and Sabonis.
The most obvious reason to offer him a big payday is his defense.
Despite entering his mid-30s (2022-23 was Draymond’s age-32 campaign), Green ranked in the 99th percentile in defensive estimated plus-minus (EPM is one of the most trusted catch-all metrics among NBA front offices).
He’d gladly assume the signal-calling, middle-linebacker-like role for Sacramento.
He still had solid steal, block and defensive rebound rates in 2022-23.
Only five players logged 1,500-plus minutes and matched or exceeded each of Green’s per-possession averages for those three counting stats.
And when he was on the floor, the Warriors allowed a whopping 9.8 fewer points per 100 possessions.
More important than all those numbers, though, is the savvy, leadership and attitude Green would bring to a defense that severely lacked all three.
Sacramento had the 25th-ranked defense in the regular season, and that’s ultimately what doomed its return to the playoffs.
The Kings gave up an average of 120.8 points per game in their four postseason losses to the Warriors.
And they had to suffer that defeat in a series in which Draymond stomped on Sabonis and went full pro wrestling to the Sacramento crowd afterward.
