Veteran forward JaMychal Green looks to join Warriors after buyout

Veteran forward JaMychal Green is negotiating a contract buyout with the Oklahoma City Thunder, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets. Once it is completed and he clears waivers, Green intends to sign with the defending champion Golden State Warriors.

Oklahoma City had sought to deal Green after it acquired him from the Denver Nuggets. That didn’t happen and now Green is looking to help Golden State defend its latest title.

Green, 32, is at the stage of his career where he provides greater value to a contender than a rebuilding team. He’s on an $8.2M expiring contract for 2022-23.

On a veteran’s minimum deal for a player with eight years of service, Green can sign with the Warriors for $2.63M. Golden State’s cap hit would be $1.83M, Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets.

Golden State only has 11 players on its 15-man roster, along with two unsigned draft picks and a restricted free agent. Thus, there’s plenty of roster room for the Warriors to bring in Green.

Denver dealt Green to the Thunder in June. The Nuggets also sent a protected 2027 first-round pick to the Thunder in exchange for the draft rights to No. 30 pick Peyton Watson and two second-rounders (one in 2023 and one in 2024).

Green had a down year in 2021-22, averaging 6.4 PPG and 4.2 RPG on .486/.266/.871 shooting in 67 games (16.2 MPG) for the Nuggets, but has proven to be an effective stretch four over the years. Entering 2021-22, he had knocked down 38.0 percent of his 3-point attempts in his first seven NBA seasons.

He’ll provide depth for Golden State at power forward behind Draymond Green and Jonathan Kuminga.