News came out Monday that Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green has declined his player option – worth $27.5 million for 2023-2024 – and is to become an unrestricted free agent.

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Warriors’ Draymond Green Turns Free Agent

Drafted in 2012, Green helped the Warriors win four championships since 2015. The most recent came in 2021-2022, when they defeated the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals.

Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and, for a while, Kevin Durant made the splashy plays. Green was the muscle, the backbone, the vocal leader. The latter part being arguably the most critical element he brought to a team that had never much to talk about until 2015 when their incredible run of success began.

Now, with his decision, Draymond Green may be wearing different colours next season. The key term is “may be.” It’s not because he will test free agency that he automatically will adorn a new jersey this autumn. Sources say that the Warriors organization is keen on talking with him and negotiating a new deal. However controversial he can be at times, there is no doubting his importance to the club’s past victories and potential future ones.

Speaking of controversy, he and coach Steve Kerr were rather frank about how the pre-season incident between Green and Jordan Poole shrouded the team’s season. Green himself has admitted that the embarrassing episode restrained him in some ways from playing his role as the regular vocal backbone in the locker room and on the bench.

What with the Wizards and Suns trade involving Bradley Beal and Chris Paul, the NBA offseason is already on fire, barely a week after the Nuggets closed out the Finals.