Four-time NBA champion Draymond Green opted out of the final year of his contract with the Golden State Warriors on Monday and will become an unrestricted free agent, according to reports.
Green – an instrumental member on the Warriors’ championship teams with Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson – declined playing next season on a player option that would have paid him $27.58 million during 2023-24 season.
Instead, Green will test the open market where a return to the Warriors could also be in the mix.
“We will continue to talk with Golden State and explore all options,” Green’s agent Rich Paul told ESPN following the news.
What are Draymond Green’s options?
Green, 33, has spent his entire 11-year career with the Warriors.
Among his options: Green could either negotiate a new deal to stay with the Warriors, negotiate a sign-and-trade deal to go to another team, or sign with a new team altogether.
What could be Draymond Green’s motivations?
Green might have an idea of how much longer he’d love to play in the NBA. But in terms of financial security, Green opting out of his deal is a business move to secure more than the $27.5 million he would have made next season. Green’s negotiating leverage could weaken if he were to test free agency after next season.
What could a return to Golden State look like for Draymond Green?
Green’s biggest motivation in a new deal could be returning to win a fifth ring with the Warriors. But he will have to repair his biggest transgression last season.
At the end of the Warriors’ playoff run against the Los Angeles Lakers, Green and coach Steve Kerr both acknowledged how Golden State simply wasn’t the same after Green punched guard Jordan Poole in October.
“We’re not playing right now because – when you speak about the fouling, when you speak about the slippage that we had as a team on the road, not being able to come together, none of those things happen if (the altercation with Poole) doesn’t happen,” Green said on ESPN on May 16.
Kerr said Green knows he “compromised things by what happened back in October.”
“Part of him coming back next year has to be about rebuilding some of that trust and respect that he’s earned here for a long period of time,” Kerr said about Green. “One thing I love about Draymond is he’s always brutally honest and he can take that sort of critique because he knows it’s the truth.”
What team could be the best fit for Draymond Green?
Green’s market could be limited, based on other team’s motivations and incoming salary cap restrictions after this offseason.
Outside of returning to Golden State, one team stands out as an obvious choice for speculation: the Lakers.
Although Green has gone toe-to-toe with LeBron James many times during their NBA Finals matchups, the two have Paul as their agents and have become friends over the years.
Could Draymond Green leave the Warriors?
It’s a possibility.
With Bob Myers stepping down and being replaced by Mike Dunleavy Jr. as general manager, the Warriors could explore other options at the power forward position.
But it would take considerable time and effort to replace what Green brought to the franchise.
Along with being Golden State’s most fiery personality, Green is a point forward in Kerr’s offense and knows how to string along the defense to get Curry and Thompson the shots they need to help the Warriors succeed.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Golden State Warriors’ Draymond Green to test free agency in offseason