3 reasons why the Dallas Mavericks shouldn't sign Draymond Green

As it always is, the NBA offseason is starting to get a bit crazy. For the Dallas Mavericks, we have officially moved away from the LeBron James talk to focus on the 2023 NBA Draft that is just around the corner on Thursday. However, some of the latest news in the NBA world may make it hard to focus on that task.

On Monday, June 19, Shams Charania of The Athletic reported that Draymond Green, a four-time NBA champion with the Golden State Warriors, has decided to decline his $27.5 million player option for the 2023-2024 NBA season, and he will enter unrestricted free agency, which opens on June 30.

The news is distracting because, well, no one saw this coming.

The Dallas Mavericks need to avoid signing Draymond Green

Green has been a crucial part of the Warriors dynasty, and he is turning down a lot of money to either seek more or find a new place to call home. All of that is fine. Players do that often. However, Green seems like a guy who would want to spend his entire career in one place, especially the place he has already called home for 11 years.

This news has spurred a lot of conversation about where he will go. The idea of a Klutch Sports team on the Los Angeles Lakers has been thrown out there for a few reasons. People know that Green has a close relationship with James, and we know the Lakers are willing to spend money in the offseason. I mean, they do want Kyrie Irving.

There are also some people who wouldn't mind seeing Green on the Dallas Mavericks. But that is the opposite of what Dallas needs. They should stay as far away from Green as possible.

1. The Mavericks don't need another dominant playmaker next to Luka Doncic

The fit isn't there with the Dallas Mavericks and Draymond Green. Sure, it would be cool to see a guy with championship experience, four rings to be exact, join a team as young and inexperienced as the Mavericks and help Luka Doncic get his first ring. That would be amazing, but it's not ideal.

The Mavericks have a lot of needs going into 2023, and another dominant playmaker in the starting rotation isn't at the top of the list. When I say dominant playmaker, that is all Green is good for on the offensive side. He can't shoot well, isn't great at attacking the rim, and mainly sets his teammates up and sets screens. The Mavericks aren't necessarily in the market for that.

Imagine taking the ball out of Doncic's hands more. Why would you do that? With Irving, it's different because he isn't a primary playmaker but more of a guy that can play off the ball and get his own shot when the offense isn't flowing. Green isn't any of that, and you don't want Doncic in that role.

I'm sure Jason Kidd would find a way to make those types of things work until they don't. They needed help getting things to work with Doncic and Irving, so fitting a guy like Green into the mix would be even more challenging.

2. The Mavericks will likely use that money to try and re-signKyrie Irving

The Dallas Mavericks acquired Kyrie Irving last season from the Brooklyn Nets in a trade that shocked many in the NBA community. It was a huge gamble, both on and off the court.

The problems Irving has had the last few years off the court aren't any that will get him thrown in jail or anything like that, but he has been controversial at times.

The on-the-court issue is that he had one year left on his deal, and the move meant the Mavericks were either trying to go all in last season or were very confident in getting a deal done with him in the 2023 offseason.

When you rank the 2023 free agents by highest AAV (Average Annual Value) in 2022-2023, Kyrie Irving is fourth behind Russell Westbrook, Khris Middleton, and James Harden. Irving was paid a base salary of $36 million last season.

Now, he won't get higher than that, and he may not even get that exact amount of AAV, but he will cost a lot more than Green does. If you could choose between them, most would always choose Irving.

Dallas' pursuit of Irving will almost certainly price them out of the Green sweepstakes.

3. Sometimes Draymond Green brings more bad than good

We all know that Draymond Green is a ticking time bomb. He barks at the refs, yells at other players, trash talks, and nags things on when they shouldn't be nagged on. He does everything that makes a ref want to throw a player out, and he has been thrown out of games many times.

Green's 17 ejections are the second-most in NBA history, only behind Rasheed Wallace. Wallace was known for being thrown out because he had an "I don't care attitude." But do you think his teammates liked it when he was thrown out? No.

Green has lost his team games because of his attitude and temper. He has 164 technical fouls in his career, which is far too many.

We know how Luka Doncic is with the refs, as he has a short temper. While it isn't as bad, his temper occasionally gets him in trouble. Why would you want two guys like that as your two best players?

You can remember some of the NBA Finals Green has been in where he cost the Golden State Warriors a game. In 2016 when the Cleveland Cavaliers won the championship, Green got a technical foul and was suspended for a game. The Cavs won the game he had to miss.

The Dallas Mavericks would have to deal with all of that on top of the other potential concerns.

Summary

The Dallas Mavericks shouldn't even entertain signing Draymond Green, especially if he wants more than $25 million a year. Not only is he getting up there in age, but he is also a guy that wouldn't fit with the Mavericks schematically.

Entering his age 32 season, he will likely want a long terms deal, as it will almost certainly be his last chance to get paid some big money. The Mavericks shouldn't go anywhere near that.

Green's success with the Golden State Warriors scheme has been predicated on everything he does well with two of the greatest shooters ever to walk this earth on his team. How do we know that will transfer over to a team without Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson?

We don't.

There is also one big thing we're leaving out. Mark Cuban, the Mavericks owner, hates the Golden State Warriors. So much so that he denied a contestant on Shark Tank because of it.

The simple fact that Green played on the Warriors may turn Cuban away from the idea. They beat the Mavericks in the Western Conference Finals just two short years ago.

The Mavericks shouldn't go after Green. There are more reasons against the idea than there are for it. This upcoming season is crucial for Dallas, and they have much bigger needs than everything Green would potentially bring to the table.