The Golden State Warriors won the 2022 NBA Championship, but the front office wasn’t able to celebrate the victory too long. They had to get to work trying to retain key pieces of that group, but in the end, it wasn’t feasible to retain all of them.

Kevon Looney re-signed with the Warriors, but Otto Porter Jr. and Gary Payton II departed in free agency. Porter signed with the Toronto Raptors while Payton signed with the Portland Trail Blazers.

Those are significant losses, but Golden State is hopeful that their young trio of Moses Moody, Jonathan Kuminga and James Wiseman can help fill the void. The Warriors still look like they will be among the favorites to win the NBA Championship in 2023, but after that, more tough decisions lie in wait.

While the core is under contract for the 2022-23 season, things could get even more expensive for ownership soon. One player who is eligible for an extension next week is Draymond Green. He has made his desires for his next contract very clear.

“Green, according to sources, wants and believes he deserves a maximum contract extension from the Warriors,” Anthony Slater and Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic reported. “Aug. 3 is when he is eligible to sign a four-year deal. That is his desired length.”

Green has been key to the team’s success over the last eight years. While he doesn’t have the best stats on the team, an argument could be made that he is the most important player. Green is the team’s emotional leader and glue that holds things together.

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It would be a major risk, but there doesn’t seem to be a plan to offer Green that max extension, at least right now. In fact, there isn’t momentum for any type of extension. This, however, is how the Warriors do business. Even Stephen Curry had to wait to work out an extension until he had one season remaining on his deal; Green has two.

For now, Golden State has no plans on changing that stance and they are hoping it leads to results on the court.

“While his desire is to remain with the Warriors, Green is said to be willing to explore his outside options to get the kind of contract he wants,” Slater and Thompson wrote. “That’s a risk Warriors’ management appears willing to take. Green playing this season with a chip on his shoulder, motivated by proving to the league he deserves a max contact, could have a positive on-court impact.”

We have seen what Green can do when he plays with a chip on his shoulder. When people began discussing other players as being the most versatile defender in the league, Green turned in a Defensive Player of the Year worthy performance before an injury sidelined him.

This situation will play out slowly, but Green does have Curry on his side. Curry sees himself, Klay Thompson and Green as a package deal. Locked into an extension of his own, he could be a deciding factor in his teammates getting paid the extensions they are seeking.

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