Golden State Warriors Rumors: Could Draymond Green Leave?

There could be a scenario that sees Draymond Green leaving the Golden State Warriors at the conclusion of the upcoming season. The Warriors won their third championship in four years after sweeping the Cleveland Cavaliers in June during the NBA Finals.

With the addition of DeMarcus Cousins, they are big favorites to win in 2018/19 as well, in what would potentially be the first three-peat since the Los Angeles Lakers accomplished it from 2000 to 2002.

Green has been an integral part of that success since 2015, but, while discussing the upcoming season, Sports Illustrated's Andrew Sharp pondered about the 28-year-old potentially leaving the Bay Area in 2019.

Sharp points out that Green has had a strained relationship with head coach Steve Kerr over the years and that even during the NBA Finals, there was supposed tension behind the scenes, with the Michigan native possibly being involved.

Green is also nearing 30 and as he's paid less than the likes of Steven Adams and Al Horford with $17 million per year, he will be eligible for a $226 million supermax extension in 2019, if he wins Defensive Player of the Year next season, which is not out of the question whatsoever.

As Sharp explains further below:

"The Warriors already have massive money committed to Steph Curry and KD [Kevin Durant]. Klay Thompson hits free agency next summer and he'll be eligible for his own giant deal. Paying all three is a no-brainer, and inevitable Lakers free agency rumors aside, Klay is probably a Warrior for life. Draymond's future will be a more complicated discussion. His game is already showing signs of wear and tear after years of playing small-ball five and bouncing around with guys twice his size. He hasn't always taken care of his body off the court. His shooting has declined. Leaving aside the massive luxury-tax implications for the Warriors, any team would think hard before committing $150 million to a player with that profile."

Of course, if Durant ends up leaving the Warriors in 2019 thanks to his one-plus-one deal, Green will remain in the Bay Area.

But the likelihood of Durant leaving is very low, and with the Warriors being able to obtain his Bird rights next season, it allows them to exceed their salary cap and offer him a five-year, $219 supermax deal.

Soon-to-be-free agent Thompson will more than likely get a new deal next summer as well and Curry just signed a five-year $201 million deal last year. Trading Green next summer is not so out of the question, especially as his contract runs till 2020.

It could be an option for the long term, as Sharp writes:

In every interview [Warriors] owner Joe Lacob has given for the past four years, he's talked about trying to own the next decade in the NBA. Somewhere along the line that will mean selling high on one of the superstars and replenishing the rotation with younger, cheaper and better role players to complement Curry. Trading Draymond is the most realistic way to make that happen.

However, this is speculation for now and Green himself is looking forward to the new season as he does not see any need for the Warriors to be worried about any other team.

"Teams worry about us. We don’t worry about nobody," Green said. "We are the champs. Why do we have to worry about anybody? They have to worry about us. They say we are ruining the league. I love it!"