NBA Trade Deadline 2016: 10 players who are off limits

While Curry is a generational talent, perhaps it is All-Star power forward Draymond Green that has changed the NBA more than anybody in the last few years. Green is the reason that the Warriors are simply unbeatable in the small ball era. Removing Green from Golden State would seriously jeopardize the Warriors’ chances of repeating. He’s not the best player in the league, but Green is the most valuable.

What other player in the NBA today can effectively guard both shooting guards and centers, as well as everything in between defensively? Green is the prototypical stretch four in the NBA and defending the Curry/Green pick-and-roll partnership is the Association’s great enigma today.

Green’s versatility gives Warriors head coach Steve Kerr the ability to be both flexible and creative in lineup construction. Even more importantly, Green is the vocal engine that runs the Warriors to a near perfect team. How he pushes this team to unprecedented levels of greatness makes him so immensely valuable for the Warriors organization.

In an era of the NBA where nearly every team wants to go small, Green is the reason for that, as nobody can beat the Warriors when he’s at center in crunch time situations, as the Warriors lay down the hammer and destroy opponents in the final minutes of games. Curry is the virtuoso lead violinist in the orchestra, but Green is the maestro creating the symphony on the court. In the small ball era, Green is indispensable.