Draymond Green: Home is Where the Heart Is
Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green may not be looking to switch uniforms any time soon, but that won’t stop teams from offering ridiculously lucrative offer sheets in the offseason when Green becomes a restricted free agent.
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Green, 24, has molded himself into one of the best overall defenders in the league, earning him Defensive Player of the Year consideration in some circles and Most Improved Player consideration in others. Drafted by the Warriors with the 35th pick of the 2012 NBA Draft, not one scout could have predicted how important he would become for a team looking at a realistic shot to win the NBA title.
No one would have thought the 6-foot-7-inch Green would be this good at the power forward position in the NBA, so it’s only natural that teams would now be seeking to add his very unique skill set to their frontcourt — most especially Green’s hometown team.
Per Adrian Wojnarowski, the Saginaw, Mich. native and Michigan State alum has some interest in pursuing an offer sheet with the Detroit Pistons, a team that will be in need of a new power forward once Greg Monroe‘s contract is up this summer.
“A lot of teams are going to have an interest and he’s earned it, period.” – Jerry West on Draymond Green
And while Green may have acted rather surprised to see the report, no one can blame him if he truly does want to play in the state he continues to give his heart and soul to.
I mean, the guy chose to spend much of his downtime during the All-Star break in the frozen tundra that is Michigan rather than staying in sunny California or heading off to the Bahamas, all the while bantering with former Michigan player, Nik Stauskas, during the Michigan State – Michigan college basketball game; it should by no means come as a surprise that his surname is “Green” considering that’s the color he has bled since birth.
So it would be rather unwise to think Green wouldn’t consider playing for the team he grew up watching and has wanted to play for since first laying his eyes upon the game he loves so much. It would be unwise to rule out that Green wouldn’t love a chance to play a part in rebuilding the Pistons and giving The Great Lake State a reason to love the Pistons again. Home is where the heart is, and his home is in Michigan.
But there’s such a thing as having a second home, a home away from home, and that place for Green is Golden State.
With the Warriors, he’s supported by family members not bound by blood but by bond. Together, they’ve done the improbable by starting the season 43-10, breaking records many thought would never be broken and overcoming boundaries previously thought uncrossable.
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Behind MVP candidate Stephen Curry, All-Star Klay Thompson and Coach of the Year candidate Steve Kerr, Green may possibly be molding himself into Golden State’s third best player as David Lee and Andre Iguodala continue to regress, and that’s quite the accomplishment for someone that many NBA scouts thought didn’t have much more room to grow.
Green has grown so much that according to Tim Kawakami of San Jose Mercury News, the Warriors front office is prepared to cross the luxury tax threshold in order to retain his services. Because Green is a restricted free agent this offseason, Golden State will be able to match whatever offer other teams throw at Green, which Warriors owner Joe Lacob is ready to do (even if it’s a trick offer sheet).
And apparently it doesn’t depend on whether the price is right — it simply doesn’t matter. Per Bay Area News Group columnist Marcus Thompson, Green’s projected contract “has grown from the mid-level to $10 million to $12 million to talk of a max contract,” which is completely mind-boggling.
Is he worth a max contract? Most likely not.
The question isn’t whether Green will do enough to earn out that contract. It’s whether the Warriors will continue to field the right mix of talent around him to keep his particular contextual gifts relevant. – Tom Ziller
Many could parallel Green’s growth to that of his teammates like Curry and Thompson, who shore up Green’s weaknesses and make him look exponentially better. As Tom Ziller puts it, Green could fall under the category of “situational superstar” — a player that fits perfectly on his team but looks like a superstar due to the superstar talent he’s surrounded by.
That’s in no way discrediting what Green brings to the table — he’s a tenacious rebounder and tough defender on the court and a fearless leader off of it. He does the dirty work that no one else on the team is going to do, the soldier that battles in the trenches while the rest take the back lines and man the long-range artillery.
So don’t rule out Green wanting to bring those qualities to Detroit — he likely does, and both him Stan Van Gundy know the Pistons desperately need a player like that. Plus considering that Green could possibly be looking at a max contract, it’s respectable to think that Green’s desire to play in Detroit is not based so much on money and winning, but love for the community he grew up in.
One day, he’ll play for the Pistons, no doubt. One day, he’ll go back to where his heart is. But for now, it’s pretty safe to say that the heart and soul of the Warriors will remain in Golden State.
Green is averaging 11.0 points, 8.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists in 53 games played for the Warriors. The team suffered a 104-98 loss last Sunday to the Indiana Pacers, beginning their six-game road trip 0-1. They face the Washington Wizards on Tuesday at 4 p.m. Pacific Time.