Warriors owner Joe Lacob has promised that finances won’t prevent the Golden State Warriors from keeping together their lineup of remaining stars, but as Draymond Green was set to enter a contract year at the age of 29, the basketball world was left speculating over his future with the team. Green would have been eligible to sign a colossal deal as a free agent in 2020, if he could find a team willing to offer him near-max money, and re-signing Green would could have cost the Warriors a fortune in luxury tax penalties.
On Saturday, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski dropped a signature bomb, reporting that the Warriors and Green have agreed to a mutually beneficial four-year contract extension.
Green’s $99.7 million extension is less than half the total value of the max deal he could have asked for in 2020 – but it seems highly unlikely any team would have committed max money to Green anyway. By signing him early, the Warriors lock up Green to an expensive but manageable deal, and Green gets long-term security and, potentially, the chance to play out his career as a Warrior.
The Warriors have spent the summer insisting that their dynasty isn’t over, and the move to extend Green leaves the Warriors in a strong, if costly, position for the future. The 2019-20 season will be a slog, most likely, with a weak bench and Klay Thompson expected to be out of the lineup for much of the year – but if the Warriors do end up flipping D’Angelo Russell for another major star down the line, as was speculated when the Warriors acquired him, Golden State could boast another incredible superteam lineup.
