In a recent episode of the ‘Warner House,’ 4x NBA champion Draymond Green spoke up about his big decision in the summer of 2023. As a free agent, Draymond was strongly considering leaving the Golden State Warriors until a chat with LeBron James (and others) helped convince him to stay.
“The best advice he gave me was during my inflection point of do I leave the Warriors or go to the Grizzlies. When I was making that decision, we were sitting together and I’m having these conversations on the phone and I ask him, ‘Bron what would you do?’ Because on the table, I have from Memphis three-years for $105 and I only signed four-years and $100 with the Warriors,” said Green. “It was a big money difference, no state taxes in Tennessee. And I’m talking to LeBron about it and he’s saying like it’s hard to pass up the money but he keeps going back to everything that Golden State means to me and everything that I’ve done there. Ultimately, his advice was more like, ‘Yo you’ve just done something so special there. You have a chance to continue there and keep doing it, why not? You can go to Memphis and do great things and you could possibly be the missing piece to them doing something special. But is it as special as what y’all have done?”
Draymond Green, 34, is a legend with the Warriors and a longtime teammate of NBA superstar Stephen Curry. For 11 straight years, Draymond played his role effectively for the team and his efforts on defense contributed to their championship runs — four since 2015.
With career averages of 8.7 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 5.2 assists per game, Green’s skillset made the perfect compliment to Stephen Curry’s offensive expertise. So when the NBA veteran hit free agency in 2023, just a year removed from his last title run, nobody expected him to leave it all behind.
But between the perceived decline of the Warriors and a chance for a fresh start with a new team, Draymond was close to signing with the Grizzlies so he could guide them on the path to victory. In the end, it only took a conversation with LeBron James to change his mind.
That same summer, a few months after meeting in the Western playoffs, Draymond and LeBron got to spend some time together at an event in Paris. Naturally, it coincided with Green’s ongoing free agency, and James was right there to watch it all go down.
As someone who has bounced around to a few different teams, LeBron James knows how special and rare it is to find a situation like the modern-day Warriors. What he’s accomplished on that team, for that city, is immeasurable and it’s not so easily replicated.
So with the option to stay and his relationship with the team still intact (unlike his former teammate Klay Thompson), Green saw no reason to leave behind the Warriors. There, he continues to achieve greatness in familiar territory and expand his legacy even further with continued success.
It’s still early on so far, but his decision appears to be the right one given where the Warriors are now (3rd in the West at 9-2) and where they appear to be headed in the future. LeBron James has always known how special the Warriors are and he knew it’d be a mistake for Draymond to leave it behind now when the championship window is still open.
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