Sacramento Kings’ ability to sign Draymond Green weakens with new Harrison Barnes contract

Warriors fans can breathe a small sigh of relief.

When the Sacramento Kings traded their 24th pick in the 2023 NBA Draft and Richaun Holmes to the Dallas Mavericks, eyebrows were immediately raised at the implications of such a deal.

As a result of the trade, the Kings had freed up nearly $34 million in cap space. That allowed them to go after one of several notable names in the free-agent market, which included Kyle Kuzma and Jerami Grant.

But the one name linked to them was Draymond Green, who had chosen to decline his $27 million player option to become an unrestricted free agent. Even while all indications have been pointing toward Green returning to the Golden State Warriors on a new deal, the Mike Brown connection and the close geographical proximity to his current situation certainly gives Green valid reasons to drive up Interstate 80 and change home teams.

However unlikely that scenario was, it was still enough of a possibility to give Warriors fans a bit of concern — until today, that is.

Per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Kings and Harrison Barnes agreed to terms on a new three-year, $54 million contract.

Barnes’ average annual salary of approximately $18 million means the Kings will just have around $16 million left from the cap space they generated from the Holmes deal — which is certainly not enough to lure Green away from the Warriors.

While the chances of Green leaving the Warriors may not have been high in the first place, a team being eliminated from making that scenario happen provides extra reassurance that the Warriors’ defensive keystone will opt to stay with them for one final run at another championship. If this isn’t enough of an indication, the Chris Paul trade adds further fuel to the Green-is-staying train.