Latest Draymond Green Report Has Major LeBron-to-Warriors Ramifications

There has been speculation about what Golden State Warriors power forward Draymond Green will do with his contract for months.

Will he exercise his $27.7 million player option, or will he decline it to sign a multiyear deal with Golden State?

What he chooses could have a direct impact on the Warriors' LeBron James pursuit.

Why Latest Report Is Bad News for LeBron Pursuit

ClutchPoints' Brett Siegel reported Friday that Green "will most likely be opting into his contract." The deadline to opt in is June 29.

Here is an update on what the Warriors' salary commitments would look like with Green exercising his player option:

Stephen Curry: $62.6 million
Jimmy Butler: $56.8 million
Draymond Green: $27.7 million
Moses Moody: $12.5 million
Al Horford: $6.8 million
Yaxel Lendeborg: $6.1 million
Brandin Podziemski: $5.7 million
Gui Santos: $4.6 million
Will Richard: $2.2 million

Those nine players account for about $185 million.

If the Warriors gave LeBron James the full non-taxpayer mid-level exception of $15 million, their payroll would be about $200 million.

By using the NTMLE, they would be hard-capped at a $209 million payroll.

At minimum, an NBA team must have 14 players with standard contracts. So the Warriors would have to have their last four players make a bit under $9 million combined.

Not only would the Warriors be forced to let Kristaps Porzingis walk, but they would have trouble affording any veteran, as veteran minimum contracts cost more for players with more years of NBA service.

Green must know this, and the fact that he's willing to opt in suggests he doesn't think James is coming.

Siegel reported that the Warriors think they are the front-runners to land James if he leaves the Lakers, but the fact that we haven't heard any rumors about Green orchestrating a James coup by reducing his salary suggests the Warriors think he's going back to the Lakers.

Could Green Push Back His Decision Deadline?

It seems like James won't be ready to make a decision on his future in the next few days, which puts Green in a pickle.

Green might be willing to take less if he knows the Warriors will land James, but he might not be willing to take less if James has given no indication of what he'll do.

It's common for teams to ask players to extend their option-decision deadline a few days.

If Green and the Warriors agree to do that, it would be a sign that Green wants to bring James aboard and is waiting to hear from James' camp before making a decision with his contract.

James and Green share the same agent, Rich Paul, and have been friends for a long time.

It wouldn't surprise me if James gives Green some type of inclination of what he's thinking.

But my guess is that hasn't happened yet as James ponders his options.

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