Draymond Green’s Value
Whether you’re a fan of the Golden State Warriors or not, you have to recognize that they wouldn’t have been this successful if not for the contributions of Draymond Green.
Sure, Draymond may appear to be a liability to some extent due to some of his antics to try to get into the minds of his opponents. But without him and his defensive prowess, the Warriors wouldn’t be the champions they are, especially against the LeBron James-led Cleveland Cavaliers.
Draymond Green’s Super Max Request
The former Defensive Player of the Year is entering the third year of his $99M four-year contract with Golden State. For the 2022-2023 season, Green will earn $25.8M. He can also pick up a player option for the 2023-2024 season before becoming a free agent in 2024.
Coming off a championship that saw him finish with 12 points, 12 rebounds, and eight assists in the title-clinching Game Six victory of the 2022 NBA Finals, Draymond now wants a $164M contract extension.
So the question becomes whether at his advanced age he’s worthy of another big contract extension?
It depends on how you look at Green and his contributions. One of the primary reasons some pundits don’t believe Green deserves a contract extension that large is the fact that his numbers have been continuously declining over the last few seasons.
From his height of 14 points per game during the 2015-2016 season, his scoring average dropped steadily year over year to 7.5 points last season. The multi-talented defender hasn’t averaged over 10pts per game since the 2017-18 campaign.
While it’s inarguable that he has contributed in other aspects of the game, the decline in his scoring numbers is something that simply can’t be overlooked. The fact that he would be 34 by the time his current contract expires also complicates matters as he’s suffered a variety of bumps and bruises over the years that have caused him to miss significant gametime as well.
The Green Value
While Green’s offensive numbers may be in a freefall, that doesn’t affect his value to the franchise. Not only is he capable of notching a triple-double on any given night, but he’s also the heart, brain and mouth of the Warriors’ defense.
Many credit Green for transforming the Warriors from a non-functioning defensive squad to a top ten defensive monster. He also had a 3.6 win share last season.
Also in Green’s favour is his connection to Golden State’s franchise player Steph Curry. The 2022 NBA Finals MVP voiced his desire to play alongside Green and Klay Thompson for the remainder of his decorated career recently. Unfortunately Draymond’s contract isn’t the only one the Warriors front office will also have to take care of as Andrew Wiggins, Jordan Poole, and Klay Thompson are also due for extensions as well.
If the Warriors and Green don’t agree to a contract extension soon, there could be a possibility that we see Green making a splash in free agency during the 2024 offseason. He might not be the offensive contributor he used to be, but there will be no shortage of championship calibre teams lining up for his services if he were to hit the open market.
Whatever direction the team decides to go in, Warriors GM Bob Myers will certainly earn his pay cheque during this next round of negotiations.
-Iggy Gonzales
Photo: Keith Allison. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.