Four-Time NBA Champ Eyeing Four-Year, Max Deal With Golden State Warriors

The Golden State Warriors are back atop the NBA mountain after dispatching the Boston Celtics in six games in the 2021 NBA Finals thanks to masterful performances across their deep roster.

Winning their fourth title in eight years has taken its toll on the players, and one of them believes that it is time that he gets his just dues after sacrificing so much money for others on the team.

In a joint report by Anthony Slater and Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic, they reported that Draymond Green is in the hunt for a massive deal beginning August 3 and noted that his desired length is four years.

The defensive mastermind of the Warriors’ multiple championship runs is going to make a cool $25.8 million this season with a slight raise to $27.5 million next season if he decides not to opt-out of his player option.

Crunching the numbers, Slater and Thompson came up with the total value for Green’s contract if the front office decides to pay him what he wants: $164.2 million over the next five seasons.

However, the pair is not convinced at all that the franchise will bend over to Green’s demands.

“All indications, though, are that the Warriors have no plans to offer Green a maximum extension, and there isn’t any current traction on any type of extension. The typical pattern of this Golden State front office is to extend with one year remaining,” they wrote.

Therein lies the problem as they proposed that forcing Green into this type of situation runs the risk of him getting frustrated and becoming a loose cannon that could disrupt the Warriors’ locker room.

There is no doubt in the minds of NBA fans that Green does deserve his own big payday after being the one to take less money to ensure that their core of him, Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry stay together.

However, a max deal now or next summer will severely limit the Warriors in what they can do for their future.

Keeping the core together is an important task, but there must also come a time when the front office starts prioritizing their future development without their "Big Three."

The Warriors have already lost key contributors this offseason to other teams, including the likes of Otto Porter Jr., Gary Payton II, Juan Toscano-Anderson and Nemanja Bjelica while having to deal with the upcoming rookie extension of fourth-year guard Jordan Poole.

October 18 is the deadline for rookie extensions and Poole could be on the receiving end of a four-year, $100-plus million deal similar to the likes of Anfernee Simons and Jalen Brunson.

The Warriors' front office will need to deal with that dilemma sooner or later and it just might be sooner as James Wiseman will also be up for extension next year.

There is a future core for the Warriors seemingly waiting in the wings, but they will have to resolve the Green situation first before looking ahead.