With Stephen Curry back, the Golden State Warriors (19-17) were back to their winning ways. The Dub Nation won 123-114 over the Utah Jazz  (12-22), who led by as much as 12 points in the first half. Even in this game, Draymond Green failed to stay on the hardwood as he was ejected in the final minutes of the second quarter. But the locker room leader, Stephen Curry, didn’t think it warranted an ejection.

“We won the game, that’s all we care about, that’s all he (Green) cares about,” he said to the media. “I know he’d rather be out there. I don’t know what he said to the ref, but I didn’t think it was. The consensus in the locker room was there wasn’t enough to get thrown out.”

While Curry was deeply disappointed by the ejection, Jimmy Butler took a different route. “I plead the fifth,” Butler joked when asked about the ejection, before refuting the idea that the team performs better without Green on the floor. “That ain’t the formula… We need ‘23’ out there… When you’re a man down, you really got to pick up everything. It’s genuinely hard to cover up what he does on both sides of the floor.”

He stressed the importance of Green’s IQ, communication, and defensive impact, explaining how difficult it is for the team to compensate for his abilities, especially like tonight, when Butler claims Green “started off hot.”

“I don’t know what he said,” head coach Steve Kerr told reporters afterward. “But I assume it was something that Kevin just wasn’t going to hear… We need Draymond and I want him out there.”

Green eventually played only 12 minutes in his return to action (eight points, three rebounds, two assists) before being thrown out for arguing a foul call. This marked his second ejection in his last eight games, the last being against the Phoenix Suns on Dec. 20. In between these two games, there was another instance when the 4x All-Star did not finish the game. No injury, no official’s involvement, just a bust-up with the head coach.

So, Stephen Curry stepped up for the team after Green’s exit. He made six three-pointers and dropped 31 points, 20 of which came in the third quarter. Golden State has now won six of its last eight games.

Will Golden State’s stance on Draymond Green change after his continued absence?

Three instances in two weeks where the 35-year-old failed to help his team. With a 19-17 record, the Warriors’ front office is looking to add another star to help and maximize Stephen Curry’s championship window.

So Anthony Davis has been linked to Golden State. For this, they have to make a big sacrifice, even their 14-year veteran. Sam Amick of The Athletic added, “Team sources say they’re staunchly against the notion of trading either Draymond Green or Jimmy Butler, which creates quite a predicament when you’re trying to match salaries of high-level players.”

Many are considering Jonathan Kuminga as an obvious piece in a potential deal, but his contract ($22.5 million this season) is still much smaller than Anthony Davis‘ ($54.1 million).

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That is why Draymond Green ($25.89 million) or Jimmy Butler ($54.1 million) would have made it work. The Warriors, for now, may not be open to this. However, constant ejections will surely raise questions, and AD’s defensive and attacking prowess would surely benefit Stephen Curry. Will they pull the trigger?