{"id":2017176,"date":"2026-06-29T14:41:33","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T11:41:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2017176"},"modified":"2026-06-29T14:41:33","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T11:41:33","slug":"draymond-green-declines-player-option-with-warriors-will-become-free-agent-source","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2017176","title":{"rendered":"Draymond Green declines player option with Warriors, will become free agent: Source"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

SAN FRANCISCO \u2014 Draymond Green has declined his nearly $28 million player option for the 2026-27 season and will become a free agent, a league source confirmed to The Athletic<\/em>.<\/p>\n

ESPN first reported Green\u2019s decision. The veteran forward averaged 8.4 points, 5.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game last season with the Golden State Warriors while struggling to find offensive consistency. His rebounding numbers were his lowest since 2013-14, and his assist numbers were his lowest since 2014-15. Green\u2019s biggest on-court impact remains on the defensive end, where the 36-year-old is still a force in the right matchups, and he continued to serve as an emotional engine and respected figure within the locker room.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

But Green doesn\u2019t provide the same night-to-night impact he once did as a player. The question for Green entering next season is whether he can handle a potentially reduced role if his game continues to decline.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

{“endpoint”:”https:\/\/api-prd-nyt.theathletic.com\/graphql”}<\/p>\n

Still, in a season in which a variety of Warriors players dealt with different injuries, Green played 68 games.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we\u2019ve been hit with more injuries this season than any I\u2019ve ever seen,\u201d Green said after the Warriors\u2019 Play-In Tournament loss<\/a> to the Phoenix Suns. \u201cIt\u2019s not quite the ending you want, but it happens. We whupped on a lot of people for a long time. Once you get whupped on, you can\u2019t put your head down; you\u2019ve got to take the punches and move forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the time, Green reiterated his desire to remain with Golden State but acknowledged an uncertain future.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the question is, \u2018Where do I wanna be?\u2019\u201d Green said. \u201cI think it\u2019s pretty obvious, guys, where the hell I\u2019m going. If they want me here, I\u2019ll be right here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

The most memorable moment<\/a> of Green\u2019s season came two days before Christmas when he left the bench during a game against the Orlando Magic after a heated argument with head coach Steve Kerr. Kerr publicly apologized for the exchange the next day, and the pair\u2019s relationship appeared to grow even stronger after the episode.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
The One Transition Steve Kerr Is Worried About<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
{“@context”:”https:\/\/schema.org”,”@type”:”VideoObject”,”@id”:”https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/video\/JSZ8R2dbF2TBDpF\/”,”url”:”https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/video\/JSZ8R2dbF2TBDpF\/”,”name”:”The One Transition Steve Kerr Is Worried About”,”uploadDate”:”2025-12-19T23:16:37.082Z”,”duration”:”PT1M17S”,”thumbnailUrl”:”https:\/\/cdn-media.theathletic.com\/video-stream\/auto-thumbnail\/JSZ8R2dbF2TBDpF\/yIQ3XegD6ZEf.0000000.jpg”,”contentUrl”:”https:\/\/video.nyt.com\/athletic\/streams\/JSZ8R2dbF2TBDpF\/yIQ3XegD6ZEf\/yIQ3XegD6ZEf.m3u8″,”ineligibleRegion”:[“BI”,”BY”,”CD”,”CF”,”CU”,”IQ”,”IR”,”KP”,”LB”,”LY”,”ML”,”NI”,”RU”,”SD”,”SO”,”SS”,”SY”,”UA”,”VE”,”YE”,”ZW”],”publisher”:{“@type”:”NewsMediaOrganization”,”@id”:”https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/#publisher”,”name”:”The Athletic”,”url”:”https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/”,”foundingDate”:”2016-01-25″,”logo”:{“@type”:”ImageObject”,”@id”:”https:\/\/theathletic.com\/app\/themes\/athletic\/assets\/img\/the-athletic-wordmark-black.png”,”url”:”https:\/\/theathletic.com\/app\/themes\/athletic\/assets\/img\/the-athletic-wordmark-black.png”,”contentUrl”:”https:\/\/theathletic.com\/app\/themes\/athletic\/assets\/img\/the-athletic-wordmark-black.png”,”creditText”:”The Athletic”,”height”:”60″,”width”:”435″},”publishingPrinciples”:”https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/edit-guidelines\/”,”sameAs”:”https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Athletic”},”author”:[{“@type”:”Person”,”name”:”The Athletic Staff”}]}<\/p>\n
\n
\n