Warriors drop green to re-sign Draymond

Just hours after the Warriors and Draymond Green had reportedly broken off contract talks, the two parties agreed to a contract extension that will keep NBA All-Defensive First Team forward in the Bay Area through 2020, according to Yahoo Sports.

The deal is worth somewhere between $82 and $85 million according to reports — all guaranteed with no incentives or opt-outs for either side.

The deal is not technically max, as the Warriors could have given Green, 25, up to $93.1 million, but is higher than $69.2 million, the max any other team could’ve offered. Green is slated to make $14.26 million next season, with his salary increasing by about $1 million every year for the next five seasons.

Those numbers may seem high, but the projected salary cap boom in 2016 and 2017 will make the figure look quite reasonable should Green continue to play at a high level. Comparable free agent talents Kawhi Leonard and Jimmy Butler signed contracts today for five years, $90 million and five years, $85 million, respectively.

Green told Yahoo Sports:

“I’m excited, thankful and grateful to be back in the Bay. Thanks Coach [Steve] Kerr and staff for helping me become a better player, and thanks to my teammates for being great. I love the fans. Thanks for being great. Now, let’s chase championships.”

Green set career highs in points (11.2), rebounds (8.2) and assists (3.7) this season for the Warriors, in addition to finishing second in the voting for Defensive Player of the Year, and eighth in the league in real plus-minus, a metric that determines how much better a team played on offense and defense with a player on the court.

The deal puts the Warriors’ current payroll at just over $93.8 million, $12.2 million over the projected luxury tax threshold of $81.6 million for next season. That means Golden State would have to pay a tax of $2.50 for every dollar over the luxury tax, for a total figure of around $112.1 million in 2015-16.

These numbers are highly flexible, however, as CBS Sports is reporting a cap jump of $2 million more than the previously expected figures, something that would also include a hike in the luxury tax threshold. Whether the Warriors can successfully trade David Lee and his $15 million dollar cap hit will also have significant bearing on Golden State’s bottom line next season.

Stephen Curry is slated to make $11.3 million next season, making the league MVP the Warriors’ sixth-highest paid player in 2015-16.

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