The Golden State Warriors have a number of decisions to make this offseason, with Klay Thompson extension eligible, trade rumors swirling around Jordan Poole (who just started a new extension), and the likelihood of Draymond Green entering free agency.
Green officially entered the free agency pool on Monday, as he declined his player option for next season.
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 @TheAthletic @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 19, 2023
Klutch’s Rich Paul to ESPN on Golden State’s Draymond Green declining player option: “We will continue to talk to Golden State and explore all options,” Paul said. It was expected Green would opt-out and now he can talk with Warriors, explore sign-and-trades and free agency.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 19, 2023
All indications are that Golden State will re-sign Green, even as Bob Myers leaves the franchise, as Steve Kerr has been vocal about how Green is a necessity for continuing to compete for championships in the immediate. Exactly what Green’s price tag ends up being remains to be seen, but after some wonder early in the season after the incident with Poole, few expect Green to end up anywhere else but the Bay for the immediate future. Should that go as expected, it figures to point to what options Golden State will be considering this summer for potential upgrades.
There have been rumblings about Poole being available, as well as Jonathan Kuminga, as the two-timeline plan has not gone as smoothly as the Warriors had hoped. Building up the roster for one more run around their long-time championship core seems like the most likely outcome, but exactly how many changes that involves is something the rest of the league will keep an eye on.