Draymond Green, who has spent 14 seasons with the Warriors, doesn’t have a contract for next season but is expected to re-up with Golden State.
Yaxel Lendeborg sparkled in leading the Golden State Warriors to a summer league championship. LeBron James signed with Philadelphia, the biggest but hardly only free agent to pass on joining Stephen Curry.
So among the pressing offseason issues now for the Warriors: What about Draymond Green?
Green declined his $27.7 million player option last month, mostly to give the Warriors flexibility as they chased James. As James prepares to partner with Jaylen Brown and Tyrese Maxey on the 76ers, it’s fair to wonder where this leaves Green and the only NBA team of his 14-year career.
Article continues below this ad
Golden State is widely expected to re-sign him, in part because he wouldn’t have rejected that much money — realistically much higher than his value on the open market — without some assurances of getting paid later. Even so, Green officially remains a free agent as July nears its end and with the Warriors’ roster unsettled.
“Obviously, I’m still unsigned,” he said on the latest edition of his podcast, released Friday before news broke of James’ decision. “I have no contract offer, the Warriors haven’t offered me a contract yet. I’m hoping for an offer at some point in the near future — nah, I’m just joking. …
“We will figure it out. No one’s patience has worn thin.”
Green didn’t mention any other team during the brief recap of his contract situation. He has not been linked to a team other than the Warriors in the abundant free-agent speculation swirling around the NBA this summer.
Article continues below this ad
One logical reason: He’s a lot more effective alongside Curry.
This is no grand revelation, but last season reinforced the reality. Curry and Green posted strong numbers as a two-man lineup, with a 117.7 offensive rating (measuring points per 100 possessions) over 39 games and 889 minutes together on the court. The only Warriors tandem with better numbers in 400-plus minutes was Curry and Jimmy Butler (119.2).
But when Curry was out, Green’s offensive impact plunged: His individual offensive rating for the season was 109.4 (including his time with Curry). And Green’s rating was only 101.9 while Curry was sidelined with a knee injury for two-plus months during the second half of the season.
Opponents often didn’t bother to defend Green on the perimeter, clogging up the Warriors’ spacing on offense. Green shot 32.6% from long distance last season, in line with his career average of 32.1%.
He remains a defensive standout, of course, even at age 36. Green finished third in “others receiving votes” for all-defensive honors; that means he didn’t receive first-team or second-team recognition, essentially ranking as the 13th-best defensive player in the league according to the media panel of 100 voters.
Article continues below this ad
Another wrinkle in Green’s free agency: A video clip resurfaced on social media Monday, showing his 2024 appearance on Shaquille O’Neal’s “The Big Podcast.” Green made it clear then that he intended to complete his career with the Warriors, in response to O’Neal’s question about potentially “ring chasing” one day.
“If I had to stay at Golden State for another five years and we didn’t make the playoffs for five years straight, I’d be totally fine with that,” Green said at the time. “Not because I’m not a competitor, but I’d rather struggle with the same guys I’ve succeeded with. It ain’t about, ‘Oh, we’re struggling, I’m going (to another team).’ …
“As long as they’ll have me, I have no reason to ever want to leave that place. We built this thing up from the ground, man. That’s our baby.”
On his own podcast last week, Green notably praised Lendeborg, the Warriors’ top choice in last month’s NBA draft. Green has been trading lively banter with Lendeborg over the past month or so, including promising to “rein in the rookie a little bit” during training camp.
This time, Green offered only platitudes for Lendeborg after he was named MVP of the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.
Article continues below this ad
“I think it was incredible to see Yax approach summer league with the mindset he approached it,” Green said. “I think Yax and (Bulls rookie) Caleb Wilson had the same mentality: ‘I’m not sitting out early, I’m here to prove myself and I’m here to show y’all I’m just a little bit different.’ Yax put on a great display and showed his all-around game. I feel like he showed a bit of everything, and it was beautiful.”
Green also couldn’t resist pushing back against Bleacher Report’s recent ranking of the all-time top 50 NBA trash talkers. Green stood No. 9 behind (in order) Larry Bird, Kevin Garnett, Michael Jordan, Gary Payton, Kobe Bryant, Reggie Miller, Charles Barkley and Rasheed Wallace.
Not surprisingly, Green would have put himself higher.
“I think I’m above all these guys,” he said. “This is talking that s—, and that’s what I do. So I think No. 9 is a little bit wild. I’ll go toe-to-toe with any of these guys.”
