Draymond declining $27.5M player option, entering free agency
Golden State Warriors veteran forward Draymond Green is declining his $27.5-million player option for the 2023-24 season and will enter unrestricted free agency, Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul told The Athletic's Shams Charania.
"We will continue to talk to Golden State and explore all options," Paul told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. The Warriors are motivated to sign Green to a new contract, Wojnarowski adds.
"We really want Draymond back," Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. said Monday, according to Madeline Kenney of the Bay Area News Group. "We feel like we have to have him."
Green averaged 8.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, 6.8 assists, and a steal in 73 games this past season, the most contests the 32-year-old has played since the 2016-17 campaign.
The four-time All-Star has spent his entire career with Golden State, helping it win championships in 2015, 2017, 2018, and 2022.
He was named Defensive Player of the Year in 2017 after leading the league in steals. Green has made an All-Defensive team in eight of his 11 NBA seasons. He earned All-Defensive second-team honors this past campaign.
The Warriors named Dunleavy as general manager Friday following Bob Myers' departure in May.