The Golden State Warriors are going to try and keep Draymond Green, hopefully re-signing him before offer sheets come in, but he’s planning on hearing out the very interested Houston Rockets, Detroit Pistons and Atlanta Hawks.
A restricted free agent, Green had a breakout season, especially offensive, averaging 11.7 points per game during the regular season and 13.7 during the playoffs, showing his ability to pretty much do it all on both ends of the floor, and seems like the perfect, versatile forward who can also fill in bigger men’s shoes which fits so well in the league’s attempts to move towards smaller lineups.
Green, a Michigan native, is obviously very interested to hear what the Pistons have to offer him. There’s no doubt that in terms of best situation, staying in Golden State will be the best thing for him. However, the Warriors do have some big decisions to make regarding Green and other players because before they’ve re-signed him they are already tied up to $83.4 million in cap hits if they pick up the Marreese Speights team option. Giving Green a maximum deal, which he’s after, will make keeping this championship roster together very expensive.
Both the Rockets and the Hawks are in need of a small forward who can play bigger than that, especially if the Hawks lose DeMarre Carroll to free agency, and they also have Paul Millsap to worry about. Most likely they’ll be able to hang on to one of them, not both. Green would be a great player to fill in for both, but Atlanta don’t usually end up being a great attraction to free agents for some reason.
The Rockets usually do better when it comes to convincing players to sign with them. The way the season ended (losing in five games against the Warriors in the conference finals) wasn’t on a high note, but the franchise finally took a step forward in more than just making headlines, although unlike the Hawks and Pistons they don’t have the cap space to offer Green what he wants.
Green is after the money, like most players are, although he’s being quite more vocal about it than others. It makes sense considering he has made less than $3 million in salary since entering the league as a second round pick by the Warriors in 2012. His exposure exploded this season due to the Warriors’ success and his own improvement, and cashing in on that, even if it means turning back to a championship team, is something most people would do.