2023-06-19 22:52:15
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The Golden State Warriors want to keep Draymond Green, though the team is prepared for the power forward to formally decline his $27.5 million option for the final year of his contract next season and becomes an unrestricted free agent looking for a long-term deal.
The Athletic reported Monday that Green will opt out of the contract. The player, who said in April that he wanted to retire with Golden State, would have to notify the Warriors of his decision by June 30.
“I saw the report too. Until we get the paperwork and notification, we can’t really comment much,” the team’s new general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. said Monday at his introductory news conference. “I’ll say it, I think Steve (Kerr) has said it, and I’ll reiterate it, we really want Draymond back. What he represents to this organization and the team in terms of trying to win at the highest level, I feel like we have to have it. So it’s very important.”
Kerr has praised Green’s grit and intensity. The season began with Green punching Jordan Poole in a practice during training camp, forcing him to take a leave of absence.
This spring, Green served a one-game suspension during a 114-97 victory in Game 3 of the first round of the playoffs once morest Sacramento, which Golden State won in seven games. He then promised not to change.
“Draymond will not stop moving because of any Draymond rule,” he said. “I will continue to play the game my way, I will play the game, I will be exactly who I am, because it leads to winning.”
In the fourth quarter of the Kings’ 114-106 Game 2 victory, Green stomped on Sacramento center Domantas Sabonis on the chest following Stephen Curry grabbed a defensive rebound.
In 2016, Green was suspended for Game 5 of the NBA Finals, a loss once morest LeBron James’ Cavaliers, following racking up too many flagrant fouls in that season’s playoffs. The Warriors ended up losing in seven games.
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