"I want to be a Warrior for the rest of my life" - Draymond Green opens up on his potential free agency next season
This offseason, Draymond Green will have a big decision ahead of him. As he enters the offseason, Green will have the opportunity to exercise his player option and opt into the final year of his contract. With $27.5 million on the table, many are expecting Green to opt-in, however, there have been some doubts.
In the wake of Green punching teammate Jordan Poole, rumors have continued to surface regarding whether or not the outspoken vet could join the LA Lakers. After the Golden State Warriors elimination on Friday night, Draymond Green and LeBron James were seen hugging postgame, something that fueled the rumors.
After the game, Draymond Green was inevitably asked about his looming contract decision. Would he opt-in and remain with the Golden State Warriors, or would he opt out, shake things up and join LeBron James in LA? After the game he spoke to media members, saying:
“Obviously I have an opt-out. Everybody knows about that. I know about that, I’m aware of that. But as I’ve told you guys for years, I want to be a Warrior for the rest of my life. I wanna ride out with the same dudes I rode in with.
"And I think we’ve put the work in to make that happen and here we are with our worst season as a whole since 2014 and yet, we had a chance to make another run. It’s never as bad as it seems, it’s never as good as it seems…”
Will Draymond Green and the Warriors' big three stay together?
With the Warriors' loss, the burning question is whether or not the famed big three would stick around. Although Draymond Green has a player option, let's take a look at the contract situations of Steph Curry and Klay Thompson.
Klay Thompson signed a 5-year max deal worth $189.9 million heading into the 2019-20 season, meaning that he'll be heading into free agency this offseason. With Thompson entering free agency, he has made it clear that he expects a max deal, however, rumors are that the front office disagrees.
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According to the latest reports, the expectation from the front office is that Thompson will have to take a pay cut to stay with the team. As Shams Charania of The Athletic reported:
"Thompson is extension eligible this summer. He’s making $43.2 million on the final year of his deal next season. If he’s to extend with the Warriors this summer, the expectation is he’d have to accept a paycut, as Andrew Wiggins did last summer. That request and explanation lands softer from Myers rather than a Lacob-led front office."
Fortunately, Steph Curry is in the second year of his four-year, $215 million contract, so the Warriors won't have to worry about him.
With head coach Steve Kerr claiming that this team's squad was not built to compete for a title, only time will tell how next season unfolds.