The Los Angeles Lakers have as of yet been unable to convince Jonathan Kuminga to sign with the team for $20 million and a chance to build his value playing alongside Luka Doncic, but perhaps one of his former teammates might consider a similar offer.
Draymond Green is going to turn 37 years old next season and just opted out of the final year of his $100 million deal, which would have paid him nearly $28 million.
Green possibly did so as a favor to the team so it could clear the salary cap space required to offer LeBron James the $15.1 million non-taxpayers mid-level exception, in which case Golden State likely plans to extend Green on a multiyear deal of his own at a lower annual number but with more guaranteed than the money he gave up.
In that scenario, it might not make sense for Green to explore other opportunities in free agency. Either the Warriors will sign James or one of the several other teams competing for his services will, but the Dubs will still have the financial flexibility to bring back the four-time champion and former Defensive Player of the Year.
Green has spent his entire career in the Bay Area to this point and has never not played alongside Steph Curry, so a return makes sense under most circumstances.
However, if the Warriors can’t land James and don’t make a trade for the likes of Anthony Davis, and Green is interested in playing for a more competitive team that could desperately use his skill set, the Lakers make a considerable amount of sense.
Draymond Green’s Defense Exact Element Lakers Are Missing
GettyDraymond Green of the Golden State Warriors.
The precise type of player that L.A. is missing on its reconstructed roster, which the front office has built around Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves and Walker Kessler, is a defensively versatile wing capable of causing problems for a large percentage of the best scorers around the NBA who occupy the same general position on the court.
Green is older now, but still finished 11th in Defensive Player of the Year voting last season and remains a bonafide basketball genius on that side of the floor.
The combination of Kessler’s rim protection and Green’s ability as an on-ball defender might give the Lakers’ starting lineup enough defense to be truly competitive at the top of the West, given that the offense behind Doncic and Reaves should prove elite.
Lakers May Be Able to Entice Draymond Green With Strong Offer if They Can Trade Jarred Vanderbilt
GettyDraymond Green of the Golden State Warriors.
Los Angeles was able to put together a two-year offer to Kuminga for $20 million and could perhaps get more money together if they can trade Jarred Vanderbilt’s $12.4 million contact and/or some other ancillary pieces of the roster.
It is unclear how much money Green might be willing to accept, though the Lakers presumably have a shot at him if they can get their number above $28 million across two years.
Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report dubbed Green the 10th-best free agent remaining on the market as of Thursday, July 9 and said it is unlikely he will be able to find a deal worth as much in 2026-27 as the one he already agreed to give up in Golden State.
“Green could opt out to explore other options,” Pincus wrote. “A team with postseason aspirations could use a player of Green’s caliber, though he’ll struggle to find the same salary as his option.”
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