Golden State Warriors: Draymond Green’s extension is a massive win

The Golden State Warriors have signed franchise cornerstone Draymond Green to a four-year, $100 million extension and the deal is a massive win for the organization.

The Golden State Warriors have had quite the eventful last month or so. The Warriors saw superstar small forward — and one of the premier players in the NBA — Kevin Durant depart to the Brooklyn Nets last month.

On top of that, they saw the majority of their depth — some longtime faces including Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston — leave for one reason or another. However, they also managed to re-sign star shooting guard Klay Thompson and lock him up long-term.

And even though July is over and August has begun, the festivities don’t appear to be over just yet.

The news officially broke on Saturday that the Warriors had agreed to a four-year, $100 million extension with star power forward Draymond Green. This move comes as a bit of a surprise for multiple reasons.

The surprise doesn’t necessarily come with the fact that he re-signed, but more so with the timing of the deal.

Green was set to become a free agent in 2020 and was expected to be one of the headliners of an overwhelmingly weak free-agent class. Perhaps the only player with more of a market was going to be Los Angeles Lakers star Anthony Davis.

But now none of that matters.

If Green waited until the offseason he would have been eligible for a four-year, $151 million contract from potential suitors and a massive five-year, $204 million contract from the Warriors.

And if he managed to be named the Defensive Player of the Year this season, he would have been eligible for the elusive supermax contract entitling him to upwards of $235 million.

However, Green decided to give the Warriors a little bit of a break.

This isn’t the first time that the 29-year-old has cut the Warriors some slack either. Back in 2015, Green signed a five-year, $82 million deal when he was eligible for a contract worth up to $90 million.

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For Green, the rationale is simple. He needs the Warriors just as much as they need him — and that is meant in as flattering of a way as possible.

Green is a phenomenal player. His defensive IQ, incredible playmaking, and on-court leadership make him an invaluable piece of the Warriors puzzle. And the system that Steve Kerr has manufactured allows Green to play to the best of his abilities.

As does playing alongside two future Hall of Famers in Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson.

Playing for Golden State has given Green as much of a legacy as he has given himself. Consider it a mutually-beneficial relationship.

Would Green be as prosperous playing elsewhere? No, probably not. But that isn’t meant to be a knock on his game. It’s simply a statement on how perfect his current situation is.

With the Warriors, Green will always be considered a winner. He will go down in history as one of the greatest to ever don a Warriors jersey and will one day see his jersey hanging high in the rafters of the team’s home arena.

Perhaps the Hall of Fame will even come calling.

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From Green’s perspective, this decision seems to make sense. And from the Warriors’ perspective, this is a massive win.

The team now has its three franchise cornerstones in Curry, Thompson, and Green locked up on long-term contracts. Thompson and Green’s go through 2024 while Curry’s runs through 2022. Even more appealing is the fact that none of the three have no-trade clauses.

Now, it would take something significant to ever lead the Warriors to trade one of their three stars, but it’s at least nice to know that it is an option. And that’s just it, the Warriors have options — and long-term stability.

Throw in newly-acquired guard D’Angelo Russell‘s contract that runs through 2023 and Golden State has a collection of four core members of their roster all on long-term deals. Russell’s future with the franchise is obviously uncertain but the option is there to retain him well into the future.

Green’s extension gives the Warriors increased cap flexibility to fill out the rest of the roster in the future while also maintaining the core of the franchise. And Green gets to remains a hero and a winner in the process.

A massive win for the Warriors’ organization and a massive win for the Bay Area legend.