With Kevon Looney, Gary Payton II, Otto Porter Jr., and Nemanja Bjelica entering NBA free agency, Dubs Talk host Monte Poole breaks down which players are the most likely to return.
Fresh off their fourth championship in eight seasons, the Warriors’ next order of business is to try to keep the band together and make another run at it.
General manager Bob Myers and Co.’s first task is to try to re-sign Kevon Looney and Gary Payton II, who will hit unrestricted free agency on Thursday when teams are allowed to negotiate with free agents. But while bringing back Looney and Payton and rounding out the roster with other veterans are the Warriors’ immediate priorities, they then will turn their focus to potential extensions with key pieces Jordan Poole and Andrew Wiggins, and even could start negotiating new deals with Klay Thompson and Draymond Green.
Here are the key dates involving when the Warriors can start negotiating extensions with their core players, with Poole, Wiggins and Thompson becoming eligible next week while Green becomes eligible in early August.
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Green even responded with a fire emoji, which could mean something regarding his contract status … or it could mean nothing at all.
While Green and Thompson both have two years left on their deals, Wiggins has just one. Poole, meanwhile, is on his rookie contract and could negotiate a long-term extension this summer. If Poole and the Warriors fail to reach an agreement before the Oct. 17 deadline, Poole would become a restricted free agent next summer.
After the dust settles with free agency, it is likely the Warriors will turn their attention to long-term deals with Wiggins and Poole before doing so with Green and Thompson. While Poole is bound by the Oct. 17 deadline, Wiggins is not. Myers said during his end-of-season press conference that he expects the Poole decision to come down to the wire, as most of these decisions do.
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"All these negotiations take on a life of their own," Myers said. "They're all different. But I know with a guy like Jordan, usually, those things come down to kind of training camp and end-of-the-line deadline. ... We're a long way from figuring out what Andrew wants and what his agent wants, but I do know what we want. We want to keep him, and we're going to make every effort to keep both those guys. They were huge for us."
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It remains unclear if Green and Thompson will get extensions this summer, but with two years left on their deals, it appears much less likely. Green is 32 and battled various injuries this season, while Thompson is also 32 and is coming off two devastating leg injuries. While both are integral parts of the Warriors’ DNA and played key roles in the team’s 2022 championship run, it might behoove the Warriors to let the 2022-23 season play out and revisit extension talks with their two veteran stars the following offseason.
