Back in September, I wrote about how this could be Draymond Green’s last season with the Warriors. And today’s report by Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski, in his report about the Detroit Piston’s desire for Green, illustrates how that pre-training camp idea has grown into an emerging reality. Well, kinda.
Detroit’s interest in stealing the Saginaw, Mich., native away from the Warriors is real. And if Green shows well in the postseason, the Pistons won’t be alone in desiring Green.
Let’s just pause for a second and imagine what it feels like to be Green. He was scheduled to make $915,243 this season back when I wrote about his contract situation, which prohibited him from an extension. His expected new contract has grown from the mid-level to $10 million to $12 million to talk of a max contract. At this point, anything less than $15 feels like a deal.
Remember when Monta Ellis jumped from $770k to $11 million in the summer of 2008? Green is on pace to blow that pay raise out of the water.
All he needed was to play well enough to get other teams interested. And David Lee gets hurt in preseason giving him the platform right away. Now other teams are interested. Other teams with money to spend and a Draymond Green-sized hole to fill. It couldn’t have worked out better for Green to this point.
Still, the probability of the Warriors losing him is slim. The Warriors have a couple chips to play.
The biggest chip: Green is a restricted free agent and all the Warriors have to do is match whatever offer sheet he signs. All of my sources indicate they are prepared to do that. They’ve been monitoring his number as it has risen over the course of the season and at no point has there been talk of not paying him.
Back in November, I was chatting with a Warriors exec and we were playfully guessing what Green’s starting salary would be. The conclusion was he’d get about $10 million and thought it seemed high, the Warriors would definitely pay it (because, as the exec alluded, they understand Green’s value is almost invaluable). Months later, when I asked was $12 million too high, the answer was an emphatic “we’re keeping Draymond Green.”
From their perspective, the cost of losing him is greater than the cost of gaining him. And for a team used to overpaying for sketchy production, the prospect of paying handsomely for great production isn’t so alarming.
Plus, they can do a couple other things to save money elsewhere. Not pick up Marreese Speights option, (especially if James McAdoo is ready to step in) cut ties with Ognjen Kuzmic, and/or dump Brandon Rush’s contract.
And if all things are equal, Green definitely wants to stay a Warrior. This team is set up to compete for years and the ultra competitor Green is values winning in Oakland over rebuilding at home.
The other chip: the Stephen Curry factor.
Green and Curry have bonded over these three years. Green has great respect for Curry, so much so he is willing to throw grapes at fans in Seattle.
And Green is a smart cat. He knows playing with a great player helps his own game to shine.
So if Curry’s asking Green to stay, that would carry as much weight as the lure of going to play in native Michigan.
How does that factor in? If the Warriors want to push for a deal before Green signs an offer sheet, it helps majorly if the offer’s punctuated with Curry’s request for Green to stick with him. It’s highly likely that $13.5 a year and a chance to be loyal to Curry (and play for a title) is greater than $15 a year and a chance to go home to Detroit (and rebuild).
The tricky part: Curry, who is playing at least a $10 million below his worth this year (and for the next two years) may not be willing to advise his friend to take less money. Curry might just tell Green to overcharge the Warriors “for what they did to the Cold Crush.”
No matter how you look at it, Green is headed for an historic pay raise. And that’s going to be with the Warriors.
