When Draymond Green opted out of his $27.7M salary for next season, it was purely to give the Golden State Warriors the financial flexibility to pursue his good buddy LeBron James. Now that James has chosen the Philadelphia 76ers, it appears that the Warriors are simply going to give him the salary he gave up.
There were reasons for the Warriors to give Green an extension to lower his salary cap number for this season. The team would clear space under the first luxury tax apron, where the Warriors are hard-capped, and get a chance to use the money they freed up to pay another premium free agent. However, the Warriors’ wish list seems to have consisted of a single player: James.
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Despite rumors he might follow James to his new team, Green was never going anywhere. He was willing to opt out and sign for less, likely with some extra protection like a player option in 2027-28, if the team could get James. If not? The team lets him hit the “Whoopsie” button and get the same deal he gave up. Which is completely fair! If Green’s going to play for less money, the team should actually be spending it on something besides Icy-Hot and Metamucil for the veterans.
It also means Green becomes a free agent next summer, just like the majority of the Warriors roster. Only Gui Santos, Moses Moody, Al Horford, and Yaxel Lendeborg are under contract past this season at the moment, with De’Anthony Melton holding a player option and Kristaps Porzingis owed a $3M buyout if the Warriors cut him loose.
Of course, Steph Curry is quite likely to sign another contract extension next month. But the absence of James means the Warriors have a nearly clean slate after this season. Does that justify an offseason where they’ve so far only added rookies? It probably does to management, who had an offseason to-do list that read:
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Bring back everyone from last year’s 10th place team
One more year (at least!) of Draymond Green. Maybe one more addition — DeMar DeRozan? Mario Hezonia? Bradley Beal? — but otherwise the main roster drama will be sorting out who gets the two-way deals.
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For the record, the funniest possible outcome is the Warriors striking out on Super Mario and signing Jonathan Kuminga, with him wearing a University of Michigan sweatshirt at the signing to troll Draymond. And if you’re wondering, Jaden Ivey is much more likely to catch on with the San Francisco Giants bullpen than the Warriors.
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