The Golden State Warriors won their first NBA championship in 40 years this year, but they will be facing the challenge of keeping their roster intact for their title defense in the 2015-16 NBA season.
One of the players they need to re-sign is Draymond Green, who is a restricted free agent and is expected to get strong interest from several teams, including the Houston Rockets, Atlanta Hawks and Detroit Pistons.
According to Yahoo Sports, Green is looking forward to negotiating a new deal with the Warriors, but he made it known he will also engage in face-to-face meetings with other interested teams because he will study all options and enjoy the free-agency process. He made it clear, though, that he will not set any expectations in free agency.
"The one thing I've been taught is to go into this thing with no expectations," Green said of his impending free agency. "When you do, that's when it gets frustrating. That's when it gets stressful. I just want to have fun and enjoy this process. So I'm not going in there with no expectations for this or expectations for that."
The Rockets are expected to be among the active teams in free agency this summer. Recent reports indicated they are looking for a power forward who can space the floor for Dwight Howard like LaMarcus Aldridge and Kevin Love.
Green, who averaged 11.7 points on top of 8.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game last season, has proven that he can play such role, which makes him a logical target for the Rockets.
As for the Hawks, it is unknown at this point how serious they are in luring Green to Atlanta because they already have a formidable starting power forward in Paul Millsap.
On the other hand, the Pistons have long been linked to Green because of his ties in the area. The 25-year-old was born in Saginaw, Michigan and played for Michigan State in college.
Green has a huge fan base in Michigan, but is also a well-loved player in the Bay Area because of his energy and versatility. The Warriors insisted earlier this year that they will keep Green even if it means offering a maximum deal, but the four-year veteran said he has yet to hear a word from the Warriors about his contract.
"They said they wanted to keep me, but we will see what happens," Green said. "I don't know. I am not getting no pressure. There are no reports of management flying around right now to see me. There is really no need to feel pressure."
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