Draymond Green revealed on the latest episode of “The Draymond Green Show” that he came surprisingly close to leaving Golden State Warriors for the Memphis Grizzlies during the summer of 2023.
The veteran power forward and four-time NBA champion detailed the tense free-agency negotiations and just how close he was to putting on a Grizzlies jersey.
“We weren’t bluffing, I told them to trade me to Memphis”
Green explained that Golden State initially failed to offer the financial terms he anticipated, whereas Memphis was ready to step up with a drastically larger contract:
“In negotiations, you always want to have leverage, and sometimes you have to let your team know: ‘Hey, I have another offer.’ The Warriors didn’t quite have the money I wanted at that moment, while the Grizzlies were offering me $10 million more per season. It wasn’t that I gave Memphis a verbal commitment, but I called the Warriors and told them: ‘Listen, I’m going to Memphis, do everything you can to pull off a sign-and-trade so this ends in the best possible way for me.'”
Draymond reflects on the negotiations when he almost left the Warriors and went to the Grizzlies
— The Draymond Green Show (@DraymondShow) September 11, 2026
"In negotiations, you wanna have another team, you have to sometimes make it real to the team that, 'hey you got something else'… I called the Warriors and said 'Yo I'm gonna go to… pic.twitter.com/jJkZowrUCR
Front office reaction
The response from the San Francisco franchise was immediate. Realizing they were on the verge of losing Green, Golden State executives took action:
“Give credit to the Warriors, they immediately engaged in talks with the Grizzlies. And I have to say, in those negotiations, they tweaked the terms and raised the bar for Memphis. Once they did that, it became crystal clear to me that they truly wanted me here… It wasn’t a trick or a sudden change of heart on my end. When I was already prepared to leave, they ultimately came through with an offer that was significantly better for me, and the deal was done. But we weren’t bluffing; it was very real.”
The epilogue: A new contract for Draymond
Following that tumultuous free-agency stretch in the summer of 2023, Draymond Green officially signed a four-year, $100 million contract to remain with Golden State. The veteran star has since exercised his player option from that deal and further extended his commitment to the Warriors by signing a new one-year agreement worth just over $27 million, confirming he will continue wearing the jersey of the franchise where he built a historic career alongside Steph Curry.
