Draymond Green Considered Unlikely To Test FA Market
Longtime Warriors forward Draymond Green holds a $27.7MM player option for the 2026/27 season, giving him the ability to opt out of his contract and test the unrestricted free agent market in search of a change of scenery. However, league and team sources don’t expect him to take that route, according to ESPN’s Anthony Slater.
As Slater explains, the expectation is that Green will either exercise his option, locking in a $27.7MM salary for next season, or turn down that option in order to negotiate a multiyear deal with Golden State that features a lower first-year cap hit. Taking the latter route, Slater writes, would likely increase the odds of the 36-year-old finishing his career with the Warriors.
Slater’s update on Green’s contract situation comes within a larger profile on the former Defensive Player of the Year and his place within the organization as he nears the end of his 14th season in the NBA. Although Green didn’t discuss his next contract with ESPN, he did address a number of other topics, including the trade rumors involving him earlier this year.
The Warriors reportedly pursued Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo at February’s trade deadline and almost certainly would’ve included Green in their package in order to match Antetokounmpo’s maximum-salary contract. Green was aware of the situation, and while he admits he was initially irked by the idea, he understood the team’s thinking and quickly accepted it.
“I’m a human being,” Green said. “There was a second of me that felt like, ‘Damn, they really going to do that to me?’ … (But) I understand this business probably (as) good as any player. I understand like, yo, this is Giannis Antetokounmpo. They’re not just about to trade me for a bag of peanuts. It would’ve almost been a point of pride.
“I’ll be honest though. I didn’t want to play for Milwaukee.”
League sources tell Slater that if the Warriors and Bucks had made a trade involving Giannis and Draymond, Green had the Los Angeles teams – the Lakers and Clippers – on his radar as possible landing spots he could be rerouted to. However, it doesn’t sound at this point as if being involved in those trade rumors will spur him to seek an exit from Golden State this summer.
Whether or not Green’s Warriors career continues beyond 2025/26, he remains confident that he can be an impact player, especially on defense. While he admitted that he’s “not as fast” as he was and doesn’t “jump as high” as he used to, Green still believes he’s among the NBA’s most impactful defenders, placing only Victor Wembanyama above himself, according to Slater.
“I feel better defensively than I ever have,” Green said. “The numbers won’t show with straight up steals and blocks. Stocks, which is what people look at. But I just do it a different way. I can’t get the block shot all the time anymore, but I can cover it. I may not come up with the steal, but I make sure (the action is) gridlocked.”
Green is technically already eligible for a veteran contract extension that would replace his ’26/27 player option, so there’s nothing stopping him and the Warriors from discussing his next deal sooner rather than later.