Why LeBron Said No To Golden State Warriors... And How Draymond Green Cashed In
Why LeBron Said No To Golden State Warriors... And How Draymond Green Cashed In Published By, Last Updated: July 29, 2026, 14:42 IST LeBron James
Why LeBron Said No To Golden State Warriors... And How Draymond Green Cashed In Published By, Last Updated: July 29, 2026, 14:42 IST LeBron James rejected a move to the Warriors, with Draymond Green believing legacy concerns proved decisive. The failed pursuit ended with Green signing a $28 million deal. Rapid Read LeBron James turned down the Warriors' pitch and joined the 76ers instead, as Draymond re-signed with GSW (AFP) The Golden State Warriors took their biggest swing of the offseason, but LeBron James wasn’t buying. Instead of heading to the Bay Area, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer signed with the Philadelphia 76ers, bringing an end to weeks of speculation. For Draymond Green, though, the failed pursuit came with an unexpected reward. According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, the Warriors have re-signed Green on a one-year, $28 million contract, the very same deal he had declined last month to help Golden State free up salary-cap space in its bid to land James.
Green Made The Sacrifice, Then Got Paid Green had opted out of his player option with one goal in mind: give the Warriors maximum financial flexibility to chase James. Had the blockbuster move materialised, Green was reportedly prepared to sign a longer-term extension on a lower annual salary to help the franchise build another title contender. He even made a personal recruitment pitch to James. “I took the opportunity to throw my pitch in there," Green revealed on his podcast. Once James chose Philadelphia, however, the Warriors simply returned to Green with their original offer, which he accepted. Green Thinks Legacy Cost The Warriors LeBron Speaking on the latest episode of The Draymond Green Show, Green suggested the biggest obstacle was never Golden State’s roster or front office — it was history. Draymond Green believes LeBron James didn’t join the Warriors because he couldn’t get over their past rivalry.“I ultimately don’t think Bron was ever able to get over the history and I understand it, I get it." (🎥 @Money23Green) pic.twitter.com/pDaCZ9txyU — NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) July 28, 2026 “I ultimately don’t think Bron was ever able to get over the history," Green said.
“I don’t think it’s the team, the organization, anything else. I think it’s the history." James and the Warriors built one of the NBA’s fiercest rivalries, meeting in four straight NBA Finals between 2015 and 2018, with Golden State winning three of those series. Green believes joining forces with Stephen Curry after years of battling him would have invited endless criticism. “He’s gonna get crushed if he comes to the Warriors… people would say, ‘You had to go team up with Steph.’ I think ultimately that weighed in on the decision a lot." He added that modern sports culture is too quick to attack a player’s legacy. “People just want to find anything to tear someone’s legacy down… Had he come to the Warriors, this would’ve been something everyone tried to use." News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit About the Author Siddarth Sriram After training in the field of broadcast media, Siddarth, as a sub-editor for News18 Sports, currently dabbles in putting together stories, from across a plethora of sports, onto a digital canvas.
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