Warriors PF Draymond Green Declines Player Option

Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green will be getting a new contract this offseason, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania.

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.

Green, 33, has spent his entire 11-year career with the Warriors and has won four championships with them, but after declining his player option, he is now a free agent.

There’s still a good chance that the Warriors re-sign Green, given the fact that he’s been such a key part to the team’s success over the past decade. However, with a new general manager in Golden State and the team’s core beginning to age into its mid-30’s, Green may be looking for a new place to call home.

Green will be a free agent this summer if he opts out of his deal, and Bleacher Report’s Greg Swartz believes he could be a target for the Blazers.

Assuming Damian Lillard stays in Portland (which may not be a safe assumption at this point), Portland desperately needs to add defensive help around him. The Blazers have ranked 27th, 29th, 29th and 28th in total defense the last four years.

Green will almost certainly stay with the Golden State Warriors, but he can become a free agent if he turns down a $27.6 million player option. A 2021 report stated that Lillard “has been obsessed” with getting Green to Portland.

If the Blazers want to build around Damian Lillard, getting a player he’s “obsessed” with is a good way of ensuring that happens.