The Warriors have a bit of a problem. Fresh off a championship run, it’s become obvious the overall value of this team is so high they just can’t hope to keep all the pieces together. That was the case with Gary Payton II and Otto Porter Jr., who received offers from playoff-bound teams who could afford to pay them more.

So Golden State instead looked inward, sticking to their draft guns by resigning Kevon Looney to a remarkably team-friendly deal considering his playoff performance, and look to stock the rotation with more low-cost guys like Donte DiVincenzo and JaMychal Green, as well as rookies returning to play or taking a second year leap like James Wiseman, Jonathan Kuminga, and Moses Moody. Even without some of last year’s key guys, the Dubs are looking poised to run it back…

As long as they keep the core together, that is.

The Athletic’s Marcus Thompson II recently reported that Draymond Green was seeking a 4-year max of a contract extension. Thompson also reported, however, that the Warriors “have no plans” at this time to offer that max. This topic has become a widely-polarizing one amongst media talking heads and fans alike: Many believe Draymond Green doesn’t deserve a max extension after he was such a liability, he had to be benched in a closeout game of the NBA Finals. Others take the side of how much he’s done for the Warriors and how important he is to the team on both sides of the floor, even when he’s not putting any scoring pressure on.

Regardless of where you stand, one thing has to be recognized, however: Draymond Green needs to remain a Warrior. And the front office needs to retain him at any cost.

Before we get into how they keep him, we have to answer why he’s so valuable to the team and the system as a whole. First and foremost is obvious: He’s the defensive linchpin of a coverage scheme ran by a defensive-minded coach. The Warriors’ success over the years can be attributed largely to their generational defense, and while the importance of Steph Curry can never be understated, it’s Green that quarterbacks and guides that defense. He’s a huge reason why the team-oriented defense works so well. To give this some perspective, the Warriors were the best-rated defense in the league over the course of the 45 games Green played last season, coming out to a 103.8 defensive rating which tops the Celtics’ 106.9 by… over 3 points. Better than the difference between the highest-rated team and the 7th-highest rated team. That is historically good, and the reason the Warriors were tied for the best defensive rating in the league last season, as they had a 112.0 rating without him, which would’ve been 15th overall.

There’s also the apparent level of comfort the team has playing around him. Steph Curry, as generational a talent as he is, was a whole +8 better in terms of box plus-minus with Draymond than without him. It’s obvious how much more comfortable Steph is when Draymond’s on the floor, and his points per game average improves as well. Draymond taking over playmaking duties to get him open looks makes Steph’s job a lot easier, turning him to a full-time scorer instead of the now-traditional lead guard role we see in most NBA systems. Draymond Green makes this team better defensively, makes the best scorer in the world better offensively, and his impact on the team as a leader goes far beyond metric analysis or anything really quantifiable. As someone who has been very critical of Green’s performance especially in the late stages of last year’s playoffs, it’d be a stupid decision even to me to throw any of what he brings away.

So now we have to ask the question: What is the cost of maxing Draymond Green? The dream scenario is obviously that Green takes a paycut for a surefire chance at competing for a ring once again, but if he’s set on getting his payday after taking a cut in his prime to land Kevin Durant, then something else has got to give. There are two players who come to mind when costs are mentioned, and unfortunately, nobody is going to like hearing either of their names:

Andrew Wiggins and Jordan Poole.

One is likely liable to go if Green gets his money. Wiggins and Poole both have looming extension opportunities, and the way they’ve played recently, they’ve certainly earned their bags too. While Poole has emerged as a Curry-lite style of player who can go out and cook when he gets going along with getting his teammates involved, Wiggins has the two-way play that makes him a perfected version of what Harrison Barnes brought to the team in 2015 and 2016. It’d be easier to flip a coin to decide rather than trying to figure out who contributes more. So instead, we turn to the Warriors’ asset pool, and suddenly the decision becomes a little bit easier.

Fact of the matter is the Warriors have two developing wings who have shown flashes of potential, those being Kuminga and Moody. They both have high two-way ceilings, and with how Moody’s played recently in the Summer League, he’s looking ready to step into a key rotation role. Kuminga has a very high ceiling as well, and playing around stars, he’s shown he can step up big time. The Warriors also have Quinndary Weatherspoon on a training camp deal, and while his scoring has been his primary attribute, he’s shown he can stick with it on defense as well. There are high ceilings for wings that can play both sides of the ball which the Warriors have, and while Wiggins is great, his contract was considered an albatross not too long ago. He has high trade value which a middling team like Portland or Toronto may give up assets to acquire in order to make a run at a higher seed this playoffs. Poole has value for developing teams as well, but ultimately both are going to have to be extended, and in a guard-heavy league, two-way wings tend to trend as higher value.

Ultimately, would this situation be best resolved by Draymond Green taking a cut to run it back? Absolutely. The Warriors will have to pay him max salary when he’s 36 or 37, and he’s already shown signs that he may not be at his peak anymore, at least not offensively. He still has a lot to offer, however, and if it comes to giving him the max or leaving, it could mean the unthinkable becomes a possibility with Steph Curry seeing what happened with his long-time running mate. The result of this situation remains to be seen, but at the end of the day, the Warriors need to keep their core together, even if it means sacrificing guys who have had more recent obvious success: They’ve won 4 championships as a unit, and with players who have that special ability to maximize others (Steph on offense, and Draymond on defense), there are a lot of rosters you can put around this team to succeed.

As long as a squad includes those two and slowly-returning-to-form Klay Thompson, they will always have a shot at another NBA title. You just have to keep them together.

(Photo credit: Jeff Chiu / Associated Press)