JULY 9TH, 1:21pm: The team hasn’t sent out a formal announcement, but GM Bob Myers said today to reporters, including Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group, that the deal is official (Twitter link).
JULY 2ND, 8:40am: It’s $82MM, not $85MM, as Grantland’s Zach Lowe and Tim Kawakami of The Bay Area News Group report (Twitter links). Green gets $14.26M this coming season, $15.33M in 2016/17, $16.4M in 2017/18, $17.47M in 2018/19, and $18.54M in 2019/20, Kawakami tweets.
JULY 1ST, 9:59pm: The Warriors and Draymond Green have come to terms on a five-year, $85MM deal that will see the forward return to Golden State, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter link). Green’s deal is for less than the maximum, which would have been five years, and approximately $91MM, but it’s nevertheless a major raise for a player who toiled away for the league minimum last season. The contract is fully guaranteed, and contains no options, Sam Amick of USA Today tweets.
The signing comes as no surprise, though talks had reportedly stalled earlier today. The B.J. Armstrong client was noted as being willing to take less than the max to stay with the Warriors and help the club keep its roster together, despite the interest from other teams. Both the Hawks and the Rockets were reported to be suitors for the bruising forward, though the opportunity to remain in Golden State and pursue another NBA title was likely too strong a pull for Green to ignore, regardless of dollar figures.
“Excited, thankful, and grateful to be back in the Bay. Thanks to Peter Gruber, Joe Lacob, Bob Myers, Rick Welts and the entire Warriors organization,” Green said in his official statement. “Thanks to coach Steve Kerr and staff for helping me become a better player, and thanks to my teammates for being great and accepting. I love the fans, thanks for being great, now let’s chase championships.”
Green appeared in 79 games for the Warriors last season, averaging 11.74 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 3.7 assists, with a slash line of .443/.337/.660. His career averages are 6.9 PPG, 5.5 RPG, and 2.1 APG, while shooting .412/.321/.685.
It’s amazing how fast things can change from “talks are off” to “they’ve reached an agreement”. Good for the Warriors.