The Warriors have made it clear that they will work to move past the drama that Draymond Green created last week, but for how long?
Green’s contract is up after next season but he does have a player option, meaning that unless he receives a very unlikely extension, it will be up to him if he wants to return to the Warriors next year.
According to ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, Green has already made peace with the fact that he’ll be with another team in 2023.
“Golden State has got to re-sign two people,” Stephen A. said on “First Take”. “The three people looking to get re-signed is Jordan Poole, Andrew Wiggins, Draymond Green. I can tell you right now, Wiggins and Poole are a priority.
“I can tell you right now that Draymond Green is expecting this to be his last year in Golden State.”
That would mean that Green both will not be receiving an extension, and that he will turn down $27.5 million to play for the Warriors next year. There is also the possibility he could opt in and be traded. Whether or not someone will be willing to pay him more is up for debate, but Stephen A. believes he’ll want to head to Los Angeles and play with his buddy LeBron James regardless.
“He wants to be a [Los Angeles] Laker. He ain’t going to tell anybody that, but don’t think I don’t know,” Smith stated. “He’d prefer to be a Laker if he’s got to leave Golden State.
“The Warriors are probably hoping he doesn’t opt in, because they’d have to pay him on top of the cash they know they have to pay Poole and Wiggins.”
Green was already likely to be the odd-man out when it came to a contract extension before the punch, now it seems like almost an impossibility to imagine it happening. For both parties, Green playing excellent basketball in a contract year is the best-case scenario.
“Because of [the punch], this year, I think is very, very salvageable,” Stephen A. concluded. “Because I think the Draymond Green that wants his money knows — especially since this happened — that he’s got to go out there, he’s got to be on his best behavior and he’s got to bring the game of his life if he wants a new extended contract from somebody else other than the Warriors.”
