Draymond Green is going to get paid this summer in restricted free agency. And if Steve Kerr’s word is any indication, the incumbent Golden State Warriors will be the team ultimately shelling out the dough. The first-year and All-Star Game head coach recently told reporters that Green would “be part of this franchise for the next eight, 10 years.”
Steve Kerr to KNBR: "Draymond's going to be part of this franchise for the next eight, 10 years."
— Diamond Leung (@diamond83) January 26, 2015
It’s no secret that the ‘Dubs want to keep Green. He’s a bonafide Defensive Player of the Year candidate this season and offers the team vital stretch and playmaking from the frontcourt on the other end. The 24 year-old is the rare stretch-4 that can ably bang with traditional post players and capably check wing scorers, too. He’s an exceedingly rare player in a time when his unique skill-set is more valuable than ever.
Given all that, it goes without saying that Green will command a hefty, hefty raise come July. Jeff Van Gundy recently wondered if the all-court chameleon would receive a max contract offer this summer, a possibility that ESPN’s Ethan Sherwood Strauss later assessed in detail.
Whether Green gets the maximum salary or not, his new deal will inevitably push Golden State into luxury tax territory – a place Joe Lacob and company have never been. However, the Warriors’ owner has always maintained he’d be willing to pay for a championship-contending team. If that’s not 36-6 Golden State, what is?
Green’s importance to the Warriors needs no further explanation – his two-way impact rivals most any other power forward’s in basketball. Kerr knows it, Lacob knows it, and the entire Golden State organization does, too. What’s unfortunate for the ‘Dubs is that the rest of the league also understands Green’s supreme influence just as well, and will surely use the rules of restricted free agency to make the the team spend appropriately.
But that’s the cost of perennial title contention, and Golden State appears openly willing to pay for it.
What do you think?
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