Draymond Green Rumors: Warriors Want to Retain Star; PF Has $27.6M Contract Option

Speculation about Draymond Green's future has been ongoing all season, but the Golden State Warriors may not be ready to move on from the 2016-17 Defensive Player of the Year.

Per Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium, the Warriors "want to retain" Green, who has a $27.6 million player option on his current contract.

Things between Green and the Warriors seemed to be in a tenuous position in October when video footage showed the 33-year-old punching Jordan Poole during practice.

Green stepped away from the team for a few days in the wake of the incident.

The Athletic's Tim Kawakami noted key figures in the organization, including Stephen Curry, head coach Steve Kerr and general manager Bob Myers, put in "hard work and crisis counseling" in an attempt to "to sew the team's bonds back together" following Green's actions.

Even during the season, it seemed like something was off with the Warriors for the first time since their dynastic run began with the 2014-15 season.

Injuries and player absences were a big part of the equation, but it doesn't fully explain why they played like a juggernaut at home (33-8) and were barely better than the Houston Rockets or San Antonio Spurs on the road (11-30).

Green told Charania there was a moment that was "well-received" in the locker room on Jan. 27 when he got all his feelings about Poole out and the two sides "haven't looked back since" then:

"We all know the situation. We all know what happened. And I felt like I had to earn my voice. A voice isn't given. For me, I wanted to do things to earn that back, and not just say, 'Oh, man, I'm Draymond and everybody going to listen.' Maybe that works, maybe it doesn't. But if it doesn't, then you lose all respect, you lose everyone's ear. For me, the first three, three and a half months of the season isn't worth that. It isn't worth the other side of it. I needed to earn respect and I needed to earn a voice. And not just because you're Draymond, or Dray, 'you've done this, you've done that in this organization and everyone's just supposed to listen.' S— don't just work like that."

The Warriors' future with this core looked to be in a vulnerable position after they lost the first two games of their playoff series to the Sacramento Kings. Green was suspended for Game 3 after stepping on the chest of Kings center Domantas Sabonis during an incident in Game 2.

After the Warriors won Game 3 to get back in the series, Green played a crucial role on defense in their thrilling 126-125 victory in Game 4 on Sunday.

One reason the Warriors have been so successful over the past eight seasons is because the key pieces they have in place fit together so well. Curry is the sun that everything revolves around. Klay Thompson is capable of taking over a game with his shooting prowess.

Green's defensive presence and playmaking as a passer on the offensive end create problems for opposing teams. He's effective in a limited scoring role, but that's not his primary value to the Warriors.

The new collective bargaining agreement is going to make it more difficult for the Warriors to keep this core group together, but governor Joe Lacob has shown he's more than willing to pay a heavy price if the team is still playing at a high level.

Green has spent his entire 11-year career in Golden State. The four-time All-Star has averaged 8.7 points, 7.0 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game in 758 appearances.