The Golden State Warriors and restricted free-agent forward Draymond Green have broken off contract talks, a source told Yahoo Sports on Wednesday.
Advertisement
“Proud to say that I’ll be a Warrior for at least the next five years”, Green said.
“It’s been a long journey to get to this point, whether it’s always trying to overcome the odds, overcome the doubters”. First-class organization. Staying with the Warriors is very very important to me. “Knowing that, obviously coming off a championship, but we’re thinking we can win a lot of championships”. He averaged 11.7 points, 8.2 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.3 blocks and 1.6 steals last season.
Green’s agent, B.J. Armstrong, did not immediately return messages seeking comment.
Golden State Warriors’ Draymond Green (23) lets out a roar while playing the Phoenix Suns in the second quarter of their basketball game at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif., on Saturday, January 31, 2015. Green will be one of the top 5 highest paid Warriors next season should the contract get officially signed on July 9.
The real question everyone wants to know is, why would Green even consider leaving a team that just won an National Basteball Association title? If there’s any knock on this agreement from the team side, it’s that Green’s sacrifice is more of the nominal variety, rather than a steeper give-back many Spurs players have made in recent years.
It’s a major pay raise for Green, who worked his way up from an overlooked second-round pick to the runner-up for National Basteball Association Defensive Player of the Year and a key member of the league’s top-ranked defense.
Indeed, this contract’s $17 million average annual value is a steep, steep, steep increase over the $880,000 average value of Green’s first National Basteball Association deal.
Warriors GM Bob Myers, coach Steve Kerr and the rest of the organization will celebrate this move.
Golden State, which already has $83 million in committed salary for next season, can shave off a bit of their luxury tax penalty by trading David Lee and his $15.4 million salary.
Advertisement
The Warriors count the versatile forward as a core part of their long-term future alongside MVP Stephen Curry and All-Star guard Klay Thompson. But, of course, one step at a time.
