Draymond Green has spent his entire career with the Golden State Warriors, who have won four championships since drafting the forward in 2012.
However, Green reportedly came “very close” to leaving the Warriors in 2023 when he was an unrestricted free agent.
According to Ramona Shelburne, Tim MacMahon and Michael C. Wright of ESPN, Green almost signed with the Memphis Grizzlies during the offseason of 2023.
“Green had even called Warriors coach Steve Kerr and teammates Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson to warn them that he was close to joining the Grizzlies via a lucrative sign-and-trade deal, sources told ESPN, before Warriors owner Joe Lacob and new general manager Mike Dunleavy swooped in with a four-year, $100 million extension to keep him in the Bay,” Shelburne, MacMahon and Wright wrote.
“The Grizzlies were just as serious about acquiring Green, sources said, believing his experience, basketball intelligence and toughness were what the franchise needed.”
The Warriors wound up re-signing Green to a four-year, $100 million contract in 2023. Green can become an unrestricted free agent again in 2026 if he declines his 2026-27 player option worth $27.7 million.
Green and the Warriors are in sixth place in the Western Conference standings, while the Grizzlies are in fourth place. However, even though Memphis is ahead of Golden State in the standings, the team is in turmoil right now.
The Grizzlies recently fired Taylor Jenkins as head coach. Jenkins became the head coach of Memphis in 2019. He went 250-214 in the regular season and 9-14 in the playoffs.
