After some early-season struggles, Draymond Green has hit his stride for the Warriors as of late, anchoring the team’s defense and averaging 14.5 PPG, 10.5 RPG, and 8.0 APG on 68.4% shooting in his first two games vs. the Rockets. As Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic writes, team owner Joe Lacob was never concerned that Green wouldn’t have an impact during Golden State’s postseason run.
“He’s Draymond Green,” Lacob said. “I wasn’t worried. I want Draymond Green to be here forever. He’s as Warrior as they come.”
Lacob’s assertion that he wants Green to be a Warrior “forever” may be put to the test this offseason. While the former Defensive Player of the Year is under contract for one more year, he’s eligible for an extension this summer, and Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com reports that Green is “gearing up” for those extension talks, having recently hired Rich Paul to represent him.
Green, who signed his current deal in 2015, one year before the NBA’s salary cap spike, has long felt that he’s underpaid, but his “mounting injury history and advancing age” may limit his earning power going forward, Windhorst observes. As such, it’ll be interesting to see what sort of proposal the Warriors are willing to put on the table during the offseason. The team could offer Green a four-year extension that starts in 2020/21 and is worth up to approximately $99.7MM.
Here’s more on the Warriors:
- Speaking of Green, the NBA has rescinded the technical fouls called against him and Rockets center Nene on Tuesday night, Windhorst reports. That means Green’s postseason technical foul count is back down to three — players who rack up seven technicals during the playoffs receive a one-game suspension.
- Marcus Thompson’s upcoming book “KD” provides some clues that suggest Kevin Durant may be leaning toward leaving the Warriors this summer, according to Marc Berman of The New York Post, who obtained an advance copy. As Berman explains, the book portrays Durant as someone who wants to erase the “negative feelings” that his move to Golden State generated and hints that his “final chapter” will happen elsewhere.
- Whether or not this ends up being Durant’s final playoff run with the Warriors, he certainly appears to be enjoying it so far, writes Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports. “This is where this sh– is fun, this is when it’s serious and I’m just embracing it,” Durant told Haynes. “I’m just having so much fun right now. This time of year is what I’m geared for. I’m just hooping at a high level and enjoying the competitiveness of the playoffs. You go through such a long season to get to this point, and now it’s time to produce.”
- Andrew Bogut‘s current stint with the Warriors is happening in the middle of a two-year contract with the Sydney Kings, an unusual arrangement that will see Bogut return to Australia’s NBL next season to complete his deal. Speaking to Mark Medina of The Bay Area News Group, NBL CEO Jeremy Loeliger explains why he has no problem with that arrangement and could be open to other players doing something similar in the future.