The Golden State Warriors’ losing streak hit four games on Thursday night with another surprising defeat, this time to the Orlando Magic. Now 3-6 on the season, their title defense is off to a shaky start, and, in truth, has been ever since Draymond Green punched Jordan Poole during training camp.
To this point, however, the Warriors are not considering making any significant changes. Specifically in regards to Green, the team has not engaged in any trade talks and has no plans to do so anytime soon, according to ESPN.
Green’s long-term future with the Warriors was already up in the air coming into the season due to his age, contract situation and the Warriors’ luxury tax bill. The questions only got louder and more frequent after his attack on Poole and the subsequent leak of the footage from practice.
Now 32 years old, and no longer the player he was in his prime, Green is in the third year of a four-year, $100 million contract, which includes a player option for the 2023-24 season. He could opt out and become a free agent this summer, but it’s hard to imagine he would get a long-term, big-money deal at this stage of his career. As such, he’s expected to pick up that option, according to Adrian Wojnarowski.
What happens beyond then remains to be seen. The Warriors inked Poole and Andrew Wiggins to huge extensions this offseason and the total cost for their roster including payroll and luxury tax bills will likely exceed $500 million in the 2023-24 season if Green opts in.
Would the ownership group have the stomach to give Green a big extension as well, which would send that figure even higher in future years? Especially if his production continues to wane? Looking at it from a strict basketball perspective, the answer would be no, but Green has been a key part of four championship teams and it would be hard to explain letting him walk. At the same time, Green is unlikely to accept a serious paycut given everything he’s done for the franchise throughout his career.
All of which led some to wonder if the Warriors would consider trading Green this season to pre-empt such a difficult decision. If the circumstances were different, perhaps that would have been something the Warriors talked about. But it simply doesn’t make sense when they’re coming off a title and expecting to compete for another one. Whatever you potentially save in terms of money and drama in the future is not worth making the team significantly worse in the present.
