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Draymond Green has proved a valuable asset to the Golden State Warriors during his tenure as the team's starting power forward, but the looming end to his contract has been a reason for concern — due only a year after Klay Thompson's potential extension is slated to come.
According to Tim Kawakami of The Athletic, Green could get an early extension, but the Warriors' management will have to be diligent in how they deal with these contracts and when, given the fragile nature of an increasing salary cap that could help or hurt the team if stretched thin. Yet the team is unlikely to trade him, given that he's more valuable within a working system like the Warriors have than any other in the league.
“Draymond is another candidate for a possible early extension, if he, like Thompson, is ready to skip the open market — but that would more likely come after next season,” wrote Kawakami. “Warriors management might idly contemplate flipping around the roster a bit on the frontline, but Green is too valuable to them (and maybe not valuable enough on the trade market) to really consider moving him any time soon.”
Green is likely to want to test the free agent market like he did in 2015, but he values playing for a title contender, as the rest of his teammates do, making it likely that both parties “talk about an extension in July 2019 but both sides decide to wait until July 2020.”
Green could then sign another long-term deal with Golden State but would be hard-pressed to get max money for his services, given the Warriors' backloaded situation.
