Throughout the season, we’ve heard rumblings that the Golden State Warriors would match any offer sheet signed by forward Draymond Green when he becomes a restricted free agent this summer. The latest report comes from Klay Thompson’s father, Mychal, via the Bay Area News Group’s Diamond Leung:
Mychal Thompson: Draymond worth $15 mil/yr. "I've talked to some ppl in GSW org. They said they're going to match whatever..Doesn't matter."
— Diamond Leung (@diamond83) March 17, 2015
While there’s no minimizing Green’s impact on the Warriors, there’s a reasonable debate to be made whether or not he’s worth a maximum contract. Depending on your view of basketball, Green is either Golden State’s second, third or fourth most important player, and it’s probably most fair to say he, Thompson and Andrew Bogut rotate between those three spots behind Stephen Curry on any given night.
That said, he’s not someone you can build an offense around, and although he’s one of the best defensive players in the league, at 6’7″, he’s not the traditional anchor in the mold of a Kevin Garnett or Tyson Chandler. Green wouldn’t have to wear those shoes for Golden State, but $15 million a season is a lot of cap space to allocate to a role player, even if Green is a suped-up example of the genre. Combined with Thompson’s extension, which kicks in next season, a hefty contract for Green would push the Warriors payroll over the $100 million mark, the highest in the league.
Perhaps the bigger question in all of this is whether or not the Warriors will even get a chance to match a contract for Green. Yes, he’s a restricted free agent this summer, but this is the wrong year to be a high-end free agent. The NBA salary cap is set for an increase in the $20 million range in 2016-17, and free agents can expect to see their offers jump a similar percentage. It would be a risk, but it’s possible Green signs his $2.7 million qualifying offer this summer, with his sights set on a more lucrative deal as an unrestricted free agent in 2016.
General manager Bob Meyers has done an incredible job turning the Warriors into one of the league’s best teams. Keeping the roster together is his next task, and it may turn out to be a bigger challenge than getting the team here in the first place.
Photo: USA Today