Getty Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors.
Draymond Green has officially opted out of the final year of his contract with the Golden State Warriors, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
“Golden State Warriors four-time NBA champion Draymond Green is declining his $27.5 million player option for 2023-24 season and will enter unrestricted free agency, Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul told Stadium, The Athletic,” Charania reported in a tweet on Monday.
By declining his player option, Green left $27.5 million on the table and will now be able to sign a new contract wherever he pleases.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnorowski spoke with the 33-year-old’s agent, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, who shared the following statement.
“We will continue to talk to Golden State and explore all options,” Paul told Wojnorowski.
Green’s decision does not necessarily indicate that his 11-year tenure as a Warrior is ending. He could very well sign a new contract to stick around, perhaps for less money.
Warriors Expected Draymond Green to Opt Out
Green’s decision reportedly did not come as a shock to the Warriors, who were expecting an opt out, according to ESPN’s Marc Spears. Spears did add that the team is hoping to find a way to keep the former Defensive Player of the Year on the roster for years to come.
“The Warriors expect Draymond Green to opt out of the final year of his … contract, I’m being told. But [owner] Joe Lacob, Dunleavy, the Warriors are going to do everything in their power, if he does as expected, to bring him back,” Spears said on the Friday, June 16 edition of NBA Today, per Bleacher Report. “Golden State is also getting calls on [Jonathan] Kuminga … [and] Jordan Poole. They have the 19th pick in next week’s draft, so Mike Dunleavy Jr. isn’t getting no training wheels going into this job.”
Draymond Green Has Voiced Desire to Stay With Warriors
While the opt-out news will undoubtedly prompt speculation about new homes for Green, that doesn’t seem to be what the four-time NBA champion is hoping for.
Green has been vocal about his desire to remain “a Warrior for the rest of [his] life.”
“We’ll see what happens as far as my contract goes. Obviously, I have an opt-out. Everybody knows about that,” Green told reporters following the Warriors’ elimination from the playoffs at the hands of the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Semifinals last month. “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,” Green continued. “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.”
Of course, there is a possibility that negotiations with the Warriors go sour and Green seeks a contract elsewhere. But, all signs point to a new contract with Golden State, and hopefully a reality where Green gets to retire as a Warrior.
