After Failing To Sign LeBron James, The Warriors Are Giving Draymond Green The Player Option He Turned Down Earlier This Summer

The biggest story of the NBA offseason was the landing spot for LeBron James. The future Hall of Famer had parted ways with the Los Angeles Lakers, and after nearly four weeks of deliberation, he decided to head to the Philadelphia 76ers.

Of course, LeBron's "last decision" (as he called it) is disappointing for a lot of other teams potentially in the running to sign him. The Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat, and Minnesota Timberwolves all felt like they had a shot at bringing James aboard, as did the Golden State Warriors. They all wound up empty-handed.

In fact, the Warriors even tried some financial gymnastics in case James headed to the Bay Area. Longtime Warriors forward Draymond Green turned down his player option to create cap space to sign LeBron.

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Alas, the appeal of playing with Stephen Curry wasn't enough to make James a warrior. Curry, who's had many memorable moments with James both as NBA opponents and Olympic teammates, had a pretty sad quote about LeBron's decision, too: "That's why you don't envision anything until it happens. There's a lot of moving parts."

That sounds like a man who's a little broken up, doesn't it? Now, with James headed across the country, Green is back to the Warriors on essentially the same deal he turned down. The player option was worth $27.6 million. Green's new contract is $27.7 million for the 2026-27 season. That will bump up his career earnings to north of $250 million. Is this current deal an overpay? Sure, but Green has been a key piece to the Warriors for over a decade. And it's only one season, so it's not like the team will be tied up in his salary.

After striking out on a splashy free agent signing, it appears the Warriors are going to head towards the upcoming season with a lot of the same pieces as last year's squad, a team that missed the playoffs. Curry and Green are back. Head coach Steve Kerr is still on the sidelines. Golden State hopes Jimmy Butler, Moses Moody, and Kristaps Porzingis can all stay healthy, and that rookie Yaxel Lendeborg, who won a title with Michigan in the NCAA Tournament, can translate his college play into a strong rookie season.

The Warriors have been the NBA's best franchise of the past decade, winning four titles since 2015. That title window may be closing, but the team is willing to keep its aging core together to go for a championship one more time.