Draymond Green, Kyle Kuzma's Top Landing Spots After NBA Draft 2023
With opt-outs from Draymond Green and Kyle Kuzma, this year's class of free agent forwards has become a fair bit more interesting.
Sure to be two hot commodities should they decide to test the open market, both players have shown in the past that they are more than capable of being huge contributors on championship teams, to varying levels obviously.
Green, 33, declined his $27.6 million player option and is in search of yet of another long-term contract. The four-time champion with the Golden State Warriors is looking to chase another title with the rest of the franchise's core in Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson.
And with the organization trading away Jordan Poole, it seems like the Warriors have chosen to commit to their old guard and, by extension, Green.
But with this being his first time as a free agent in his career, Green could end up with another contender if he's shown the right money.
As for Kuzma, with the Wizards choosing to deal away Bradley Beal and Kristaps Porziņģis, he is the last major piece from last season's squad that remains a question mark for the organization as they contemplate a rebuild.
The Wizards will have to choose whether they want to bring the 2020 NBA Champion back to the nation's capital or completely commit to a youth movement and start over, which has been long overdue at this point.
At just 27-years-old, Kuzma is coming off arguably the best season of his career and will be a huge target to contenders and young rosters all around the league after declining his $13 million option.
Here are a couple of potential landing spots for Kuzma and Green.
Draymond Green
While Green declining his player option may have shocked most of NBA Twitter, plenty of insiders and executives, including the Warriors front office, have been expecting the former Defensive Player of the Year to do so for a while.
"First off, let me just say that Draymond's opting out is 100 percent expected – it is not a surprise. We've known about it for weeks if not months," ESPN's Brian Windhorst said. "It is a procedural move… There was no issue with this happening. Absolutely, from what I am told, there is dialogue between the Warriors and Draymond with an intention that he would remain there."
So, the clear landing place for Green is the organization that he's spent his entire 11-year, illustrious career with.
Green will be looking to help place the Warriors into the upper echelon of dynasties by winning a fifth title as part of the team's core, even if it takes the franchise possibly even deeper into the luxury tax.
While he may not be a max-level player anymore like he used to, The Athletic's Zach Harper and Shams Charania wrote that a three or four-year deal around $25 million per season could makes sense for both parties.
If for some reason, Green doesn't end up back in the Bay Area, one possible destination for him may be the Dallas Mavericks, who are desperately in need of a defensive face lift.
The Mavericks already plan on rebuilding their front court rotation this offseason after deciding to move on from Christian Wood. They already received the draft rights to Dereck Lively II on Thursday night and could partner him with Green to increase their defensive rigidity.
And by trading Davis Bertans to the Thunder on Thursday, Dallas now has the full mid-level exception as well as a $17 million trade exception, giving them much more flexibility to pursue someone like Green.
Kyle Kuzma
Kuzma is expected to be a hot commodity should he hit the open market following his second season with Washington.
It was reported Tuesday that Kuzma is declining his player option and will enter free agency for the first time in his career. He is eyeing a deal that could pay him about $30 million per season.
Kuzma averaged a career-high 21.2 points per game to go along with 7.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists on 44.8 percent shooting from the field and 33.3 percent from three-point range.
B/R's NBA staff connected Kuzma with the Utah Jazz in an article in which they listed one ambitious free-agent target for every team in the league. And it makes sense.
As a team that exceeded expectations after trading away Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell, the Jazz may be looking for pieces that can compliment their young core and help them vie for playoff contention.
Kuzma fits that mold and could be a strong frontcourt addition next to Lauri Markkanen and Walker Kessler. He also brings valuable championship experience.
The Phoenix Suns held interest in Kuzma ahead of the trade deadline and could be contenders for his signature. The organization would give him an immediate chance to compete for a title with a loaded starting lineup that includes Kevin Durant and Devin Booker.
Sources also told Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints that the Suns would be a prime landing spot for him.
Although, the Suns' acquisition of Beal makes it extremely difficult to imagine Phoenix being able to afford Kuzma.
