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Wednesday, January 15, 2025
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Draymond Green Exploring NBA Media Options As Warriors Struggle

“He looks at media as a big part of his future—and is excited about the opportunities that exist out there for him,” Green’s agent tells FOS.

Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

Warriors star Draymond Green is preparing for a potential media career after his time as an NBA player ends.

Sources tell Front Office Sports that the four-time NBA champion has held exploratory talks with one or more of the league’s incoming media partners—NBC Sports, Amazon Prime Video, and ESPN.

Josh Pyatt, Green’s agent at WME Sports, confirmed several NBA media partners are expressing interest in his client.  

“He looks at media as a big part of his future—and is excited about the opportunities that exist out there for him,” Pyatt tells FOS about Green.

The big question now: When will the 34-year-old power forward retire? The 2016–2017 Defensive Player of the Year has two years left on his current contract that will pay him $25.9 million in 2025–2026 and $27.7 million in 2026–2027 if he chooses to exercise a player option. That’s a lot of money to walk away from.

But Green has already made $202 million during his 12-year career, according to Spotrac. And the impulsive star has always done things his way. Green said on his podcast that he weighed retirement during his indefinite suspension from the league in late 2023, but that league commissioner Adam Silver talked him out of it. “I told him I don’t want to do this anymore. This doesn’t serve me anymore,” recalled Green in an interview with ESPN. “It wasn’t that I was contemplating to do it right then. But I was [thinking] I probably got a year left and I’m done.”

Green could also try to juggle two careers, making appearances for his new media employer while finishing his career with the Warriors, just as he’s done sporadically on TNT Sports. It’s not unheard of for stars to pave the way for a second career in media while still active as a player. Super Bowl–winning quarterback Drew Brees lined up a multiyear contract with NBC while still playing for the Saints. On the day he retired from the NFL, Brees and NBC announced his new analyst role.

During the same interview with ESPN, Green, the Warriors’ emotional leader, expressed his frustration with the former dynasty’s fall from its greatest heights. The aging Warriors rank 12th in the Western Conference, with a 19–20 record. Green is averaging 8.7 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. “I hate losing,” he told ESPN.

The four-time NBA All-Star would enter the media with more experience than most players. He hosts his own eponymous podcast/YouTube show with Baron Davis. On TV, he’s made many paid appearances on TNT Sports’ Inside the NBA, where he’s been viewed as a potential successor to 61-year-old Charles Barkley. Green is said to love the Emmy Award–winning cast—and they love him. Green could stay with TNT, which loses domestic NBA broadcast rights in the U.S. after this season. But when he retires, he’ll enter the sports media world as a free agent, Pyatt said. With NBC and Prime planning their hoops coverage, Green could have multiple options as Inside the NBA moves over to ESPN.

One sports media executive I spoke to about Green said he is excited about his potential. “He would be great. He’s interesting—and he could take his podcast to whoever hires him.”

Green is clearly keeping track of hires in the new NBA TV gold rush. On his Instagram feed, he shouted out Jamal Crawford for landing a role as an NBC game analyst. Green posted a picture of the former Warriors star with a two-word caption, “Yesssirrr Ma!!!” Green also has ties to ESPN. Bob Myers, Green’s former GM with Golden State, joined the network as a studio analyst in 2023. 

Pyatt and WME are representing Green for his TV/entertainment endeavors, while Rich Paul’s Klutch Sports represents him on the court and for endorsements.

Last week, Prime Video announced it was hiring Taylor Rooks, Blake Griffin, and Dirk Nowitzki to lead its inaugural studio coverage of the NBA from Los Angeles. Ex-Knicks star Carmelo Anthony is also interested in making a move to TV once the NBA’s new rights agreements lock into place. 

As part of the NBA’s $77 billion media-rights agreement, Disney, NBCUniversal and Amazon Prime Video are splitting up domestic game rights starting in the 2025–2026 season. Incumbent ESPN/ABC will retain the lead TV package, including exclusive coverage of the NBA Finals.

NBC, Prime, and ESPN declined to comment for this story.

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