Four-time All-Star power forward Draymond Green has been with the Golden State Warriors since the team drafted him out of Michigan State University in 2012.
It appears the eight-time All-Defensive Teamer almost jumped ship last offseason.
During a recent episode of his podcast “The Draymond Green Show” (as clipped by LoonMuse, a very specific, Kevon Looney-themed X account), Green conceded that he came very close to departing in free agency for a longtime direct rival of the Warriors, the Memphis Grizzlies, in 2023.
“So last year during free agency, I called Klay, and I called Steph [Curry], separate calls, and Steve [Kerr] and I was just telling them like ‘Yo, I’m leaving. I’m going to Memphis,’” Green revealed. “I remember that call with them, ’cause I was going to leave… And obviously we got it figured out, shoutout to the Lacobs [the team owners] and Mike Dunleavy, his first free agency [as team president].”
Ultimately, the 2017 Defensive Player of the Year would go on to pivot, returning Golden State on a four-year, $100 million deal.
As fate would have it, Green would not wind up being the first of the Warriors’ “Big Three” to depart, after all. This offseason, five-time All-Star shooting guard/small forward Klay Thompson jumped ship, signing a three-year, $50 million contract with the reigning West champion Dallas Mavericks. The Warriors had offered him multiple contract extensions before the 6-foot-6 swingman had even reached free agency.
Green’s Warriors have faced off against the Memphis Grizzlies, in a variety of iterations, multiple times over the years. Golden State vanquished the “Grit ‘n’ Grind” era Grizzlies — led by All-Star point guard Mike Conley Jr., All-Defensive First Team shooting guard Tony Allen, Tayshaun Prince, All-Star power forward Zach Randolph, and All-Star center Marc Gasol — during its run to its first title with Green, Thompson, and All-NBA point guard Stephen Curry at the helm in the second round of the 2015 playoffs.
In the 2022 semifinals against Memphis’ newest playoff core, the Warriors’ Big Three vanquished a whole new Grizzlies squad — anchored by injury-prone All-Star Ja Morant (who only survived three games in the six-game series), undersized shooting guard Desmond Bane, controversial swingman Dillon Brooks, All-Defensive Team power forward Jaren Jackson Jr., and center Steven Adams — en route to its fourth and final title together.
After a first-round upset loss to the No. 7-seeded Los Angeles Lakers in 2023, the Grizzlies had publicly declared they were moving on from Brooks, who had been borderline unplayable in that series. With Adams struggling from a long-term injury and Jackson big enough to play at center, Green could have slotted in at either forward slot for the team.
For his sake, however, maybe it’s a lucky break he wound up re-signing with Golden State. That Grizzlies club finished with a 27-55 record in 2023-24 amidst a rash of injuries and a costly Ja Morant suspension and now faces a shaky future. Golden State fared better, going 46-36 and making the play-in tournament, although the aging Warriors couldn’t make it to the playoffs properly.
Uncommon Knowledge
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