Getty Images Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors hugs teammate Stephen Curry.
Draymond Green’s mom weighed in on his future with the Golden State Warriors through a series of passionate tweets aimed at his critics as he eyes a max deal.
Green has two years left on his contract, the second being a player option for the 2023-24 season. He’ll make more than $54 million between those two seasons but would like to be re-upped by Golden State on a max deal when he’s eligible on August 3, according to Anthony Slater and Marcus Thompson of The Athletic.
After playing like the Defensive Player of the Year frontrunner before injury shortened his regular season, after helping lead the Warriors to a fourth championship in eight seasons, even after struggling at times in in the postseason and his offense being an issue, Green is convinced the core of the Warriors’ dynasty is worth every possible penny, and that definitely includes him.
The report added that the Warriors have no plans to offer Green a max deal, which his mother, Mary Babers Green, doesn’t agree with. With four titles in eight years as a core member of the Warriors, she feels her son has done enough to be a max-level player and defended him on social media.
“A lot of you are saying he shouldn’t get MAX but guys that hasn’t won anything get BREAD based off potential!” Babers Green tweeted Wednesday with the hashtag, “#MANGONE.”
Steph Curry Also in Draymond Green’s Corner
Babers Green also stirred up some speculation that Draymond could be looking at Detroit as a viable landing spot, mentioning it’s just 90 miles away from her and that she’s been a lifelong Pistons fan. However, she fired back over the reaction and assumptions it caused.
“I never said, I wanted my son on the PISTONS! Stop taking ppl words & twisting them SHEESH! That’s why I’m not active anymore on social media. Y’all LIE TOO MUCH!” Green’s mom tweeted.
Another person in Green’s corner is Stephen Curry, who would not be happy if the Warriors let his long-time teammate walk.
“Multiple sources said Curry would not be happy if the Warriors lost Green because the team didn’t want to pay him,” Slater and Thompson reported. “Curry sees the Big Three as a package deal. While much of the talk of the season was about the Warriors’ plan to win-and-develop simultaneously, it isn’t lost on the veteran core how that plan disappeared in the postseason. It was all on them again, with the help of some critical vets.”
Draymond Green Willing to Explore Other Options
If the Warriors are unwilling — or unable due to their cap issues — to give Green the full max, he’d be willing to look at other situations.
The Pistons would be intriguing due to the connections to his home state of Michigan. However, the Lakers, Clippers and Blazers were other teams mentioned by The Mercury News as intriguing opportunities for Green that present increased winning potential. After all, he’s a Klutch client and hasn’t been shy to heap praise on LeBron James lately.
But the question becomes whether or not another team would be willing to buck up with a max deal for Green, who is a shutdown defender but has turned into a liability at the offensive end of the court. That’s largely covered up with the Warriors by Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and others providing the lion’s share of the offense, which is something teams will obviously consider when looking at a max-level deal.
If he stays with the Warriors, a max-deal would pay Green $164.2 million over the next five seasons and he’d be 37 by the end of it. Golden State also has to plan for other deals, including for younger players like Jordan Poole and Andrew Wiggins, who represent the future once the core of Curry, Thompson and Green eventually move on.