Draymond Green is staying home.
The star forward agreed to a one-year, $27.7 million deal with the Golden State Warriors that will keep him in the Bay Area for at least one more season alongside Steph Curry and Steve Kerr.
While Green was eligible to include a no-trade clause in the deal, there isn’t one featured in the one-year contract. The Warriors reportedly would have given Green a longer-term deal had the team landed LeBron James.
Green declined his $27.7 player option with the Warriors this offseason to give the team financial flexibility, primarily in its pursuit of James this summer. The Golden State veteran was always expected to return, but the team spent the last month wrapped up in the free agent sweepstakes for James.
As a cornerstone of the organization, it appears Green was involved in the recruitment of James. But the 41-year-old ultimately chose to sign a two-year, $8 million deal with the Philadelphia 76ers.
Green believes the fear of public scrutiny and backlash from joining the Warriors was a deciding factor in James saying no to the team. The 2015-18 rivalry between the Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers may have been too much of a hurdle for James to end his career with Curry and Green.
Green is coming off a season where he averaged 8.4 points, 5.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists while shooting 41.8% from the field and 32.6% from three. It marked the first time in Green’s career that he finished a campaign outside the top 10 in voting for Defensive Player of the Year.
The forward was drafted by the Warriors as the No. 35 overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft out of Michigan State. Since then, Green has emerged as a four-time NBA champion, four-time All-Star, five-time All-Defensive First Team, and Defensive Player of the Year in 2017.
Had the Warriors won the NBA Finals in 2016 against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Green likely would have won Finals MVP that year. In Game 7, Green recorded 32 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists while going 6-of-8 from beyond the arc.
He also scored 28 points with five three-pointers in the Warriors’ blowout win over Cleveland in Game 2 of the 2016 NBA Finals.
Green is entering his 15th season in the league and remains a key piece of the Warriors veteran core alongside Curry and Jimmy Butler. Aside from the James sweepstakes, Golden State’s front office hasn’t been very active in acquiring free agents this summer.
Every NBA team has added a new player through free agency or trade this offseason, except the Warriors.
Though, the team has re-signed veterans such as Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford. Golden State also drafted Yaxel Lendeborg with the 11th overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.
There are several questions marks surrounding the Warriors as the team competes in a loaded Western Conference, but Green’s deal means the team retains a pillar of the organization.
The 36-year-old has spent his entire NBA career in the Bay Area, and while he hasn’t been as efficient in recent years, Green’s new deal with the Warriors is a sign of loyalty from the franchise.
