The Warriors’ quest to defend their NBA title ended on Friday night in a 122–101 loss at the hands of LeBron James and the Lakers.
Things could look drastically different in Golden State next season, as Draymond Green, a core member of the Warriors’ four championship teams, has an opt-out clause in his contract that would allow him to test free agency. Despite the impending decision contractually, Green said that wants to remain a “Warrior for life.”
“We’ll see what happens as far as my contract goes,” Green said. “Obviously I have an opt-out. Everybody knows about that. I know about that, I’m aware of that. But as I’ve told you guys for years, I want to be a Warrior for the rest of my life. I wanna ride out with the same dudes I rode in with. And I think we’ve put the work in to make that happen and here we are with our worst season as a whole since 2014 and yet, we had a chance to make another run. It’s never as bad as it seems, it’s never as good as it seems…”
"I want to be a Warrior for the rest of my life." - Draymond pic.twitter.com/tmaSocYqYo
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) May 13, 2023
If Green opts into the final year of his four year contract extension that he signed ahead of the 2020 season, he will make $27.5 million next season before becoming a free agent in ’24.
Green will be 33 at the start of next season, and still should have plenty of good basketball left in him as a core piece of the Warriors if the two sides can come together on contractual terms in the event of an opt-out by the star forward.
