Draymond Green Re-Signs With Warriors as LeBron Chase Fizzles
Golden State struck out on LeBron and now sits at 12 players. Green returns on the same $27.7M deal he opted out of — with no no-trade clause.
82 games and 27.8 FPTS/G last season make him the safest Warrior to roster.
- Green returns on same $27.7M he opted out of
- No no-trade clause despite eligibility
- Warriors sit at 12 players including Melton
- 37-win season, still zero new outside adds
- DeRozan avg 18.4 PPG last year for Kings
The Warriors spent the summer chasing LeBron James and came away with the guy they already had. Draymond Green is back in Golden State on the exact one-year, $27.7 million contract he opted out of to create room for the James pursuit — a chase that never materialized. As of late July, the Warriors remain the only NBA team that hasn't added a single outside free agent this offseason.
The wrinkle: despite being eligible for one, Green's new deal reportedly does not include a no-trade clause. That's a detail worth filing away. It leaves Golden State roster flexibility on a team that won just 37 games last season, with Jimmy Butler (20 PPG before injury) and others still working through leg rehab.
The Roster Math
Counting Green and the soon-to-be-official De'Anthony Melton, the Warriors are at 12 players. They brought back all three centers — Al Horford, Kristaps Porzingis and Charles Bassey — plus drafted Yaxel Lendeborg at No. 11. Gary Payton II is expected to return on a veteran minimum again, same as last year. Whatever comes next has to be cheap, and Golden State clearly isn't rushing.
The one intriguing swing left is DeMar DeRozan. He averaged 18.4 points for Sacramento last season — his lowest since 2012-13, but still enough to slot in as Golden State's second-leading scorer behind Steph Curry. At 37, DeRozan rarely misses games (77 played last year), though he may simply cost more than the Warriors can spend right now.
The Fantasy Fallout
For fantasy purposes, none of this shakes up the pecking order much. Green's return doesn't create new value — he's the same defensive-minded playmaker he's always been. The real anchor here is Brandin Podziemski, who played all 82 games last season (2025-26) and posted 27.8 fantasy points per game, our #114 overall. He's the Warrior you can actually trust to be on the floor.
Melton (24.1 FPTS/G last season, #150 overall) is a deep-league flier once his contract finalizes, but his 49-game total in 2025-26 and a soft recent form dip (-2.9 vs average over his last five) keep him streamer-tier. Horford is fading too — his last five games ran -9.9 fantasy points below his season average, and at #168 he's barely rosterable. Bottom line: hold Podziemski everywhere, treat everyone else as matchup-based depth until Golden State actually finishes its roster.
