Draymond Green‘s new four-year, $99.7MM contract extension with the Warriors, which became official on Saturday, includes a player option on the final season, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter). The deal also features a 15% trade kicker, according to Nick Friedell of ESPN.com.
Of the two new details on Green’s deal, the player option is more noteworthy. Neither Stephen Curry nor Klay Thompson received a player option on his most recent five-year contract with Golden State. The Warriors were willing to tack on second-year player options for Kevin Durant as he went year to year, but it seemed as if the organization was opposed to including those options in long-term pacts. Green’s new deal suggests that’s not the case.
Green will have to decide on his player option during the summer of 2023, when he’ll be 33 years old. If he turns down the option, he’ll become an unrestricted free agent that summer. If he picks it up, he’ll lock in a $27.6MM salary for the 2023/24 season.
At this point, Green seems likely to opt in, but we did just see a 33-year-old Al Horford secure nearly $100MM in guaranteed money on a long-term free agent contract, so if Green’s career follows a similar trajectory, he could score one last big payday in the summer of ’23.
As for the trade kicker, there’s no indication that the Warriors will consider dealing Green anytime soon, but if that changes down the road, the kicker would be a factor. He’ll be eligible for a bonus worth 15% of his remaining salary if he’s traded. The annual salaries on Green’s extension project to fall well below his maximum salaries in each season, so the bonus money wouldn’t be voided unless he chose to waive the kicker.
Green is the third Warriors star to get a 15% trade kicker on his latest contract, joining Curry and Thompson.