Warriors’ Draymond Green Suffers Ankle Injury, Out 4-6 Weeks
Golden State Warriors power forward Draymond Green has a sprained left ankle, according to multiple NBA reports. The four-time champion told Marc J. Spears of Andscape that he will likely be out for four to six weeks.
The Warriors are expected to start Chris Paul, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins, and Green in 2023-24. If Green isn’t ready for the start of the regular season, Golden State will likely start Paul, Curry, Thompson, Wiggins, and Kevon Looney.
The Warriors lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2023 Western Conference Semifinals in six games. It was the first time Golden State didn’t get to the NBA Finals while playing in the playoffs in the Steve Kerr era, which began in 2014-15.
Green doesn’t see why the Warriors can’t win two more championships. The Warriors, who have won four titles in the Green-Curry-Thompson era, acquired Paul from the Washington Wizards this offseason.
“I don’t like to necessarily put a number on things,” Green told Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. “But I don’t see why we can’t get two more championships. Why not?”
Warriors owner Joe Lacob wants Green, Curry and Thompson to retire with the franchise. Curry signed a four-year, $215.4 million extension with the Warriors in August 2021. He can’t become an unrestricted free agent until the summer of 2026.
Thompson is eligible to sign a contract extension this offseason since he’s in the final year of his deal. The All-Star shooting guard signed a five-year, $189.9 million deal with Golden State in July 2019. Thompson missed two seasons in a row due to an ACL and Achilles injury.
Green could have left the Warriors this offseason since he was an unrestricted free agent. He was heavily linked to the Lakers since he has a close relationship with LeBron James, but the Michigan State product was never going to leave Curry and Thompson.
“Certainly, we’d like Steph, Draymond and Klay to retire as Warriors,” Lacob told Madeline Kenney of the Mercury News. “That is my goal, our goal, and I think it’s a good likelihood that’ll happen.”
