7 possible Draymond Green destinations; go time for NBA front offices

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What’s Next for Draymond?

Green to explore free agency

Draymond Green’s agent Rich Paul has been waiting to do this dance in free-agent negotiations for his client for a while. After declining his $27.5 million player option, the 33-year-old Green will become an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career. He’s never been on the open market before, except in the podcast world. And that’s where things get tricky.

One of the more nuanced conversations regarding Green and his career is figuring out what he means to winning basketball. The Warriors swear by his impact, as they should. He’s been their entire defensive system, built by his own genius and assistant coach Ron Adams. Offensively, he’s been the facilitator, and too many detractors focus on his 8.7 points per game. The scoring and the shooting aren’t issues because he’s rarely tricked into taking a bad shot.

Steve Kerr has been adamant about valuing Green and wanting him back. Green’s teammates know how integral he is to getting them in positions to win. The Warriors don’t win titles without Green’s presence, and he’s nearly impossible to replace. So if Joe Lacob and company are still looking to be title contenders, then Green has the ability to negotiate from a place of power.

Here are some Draymond options to consider:

• Lakers: Green loves LeBron James and talks about him constantly, and that kind of depth for the interior would make this defense unstoppable. But this feels like a logistical stretch.
• Sacramento: Might be a little awkward considering he stomped on Domantas Sabonis’ chest two months ago, but this is the guy the Kings need on defense to tie it all together. Not that far of a move, and there’s a relationship with Mike Brown. No cap space, though.
• Dallas: The Mavs desperately need someone like Green to direct defense and turn Luka Dončić into an off-ball weapon. He also sets a culture the Mavs have failed to build. Dallas, however, has no cap space or attractive pieces to dangle in a sign-and-trade.
• Houston: The Rockets could potentially have the space to make a massive offer, if this becomes about the money. But he’s not going to babysit the young guys, and James Harden would have to come back with others to make it attractive.
• Utah: The Jazz certainly have the cap room and flexibility to add some significant players if they want. They have great draft assets to dangle in trades to acquire players. But their roster isn’t what it would need to be for competing.
• Portland: Green is exactly what the Blazers need to make it work with Damian Lillard, but the Blazers don’t exactly have a great direction right now. They’re stuck between a rebuild and finding ways to put a team around Dame.
• Golden State: Maybe Green doesn’t…