Draymond Green has done it again.
And it seems the NBA is done playing around.
Green was suspended earlier in the season for choking Rudy Gobert from behind during a fracas between the Golden State Warriors and the Minnesota Timberwolves. But despite that five-game suspension, Green does not seem to be tamping down his style of play. He was given a Flagrant 2 and ejected on Tuesday night after clobbering Jusuf Nurkic.
Green has been suspended indefinitely by the NBA, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. You can see the play here:
Green will undergo counseling, and has to meet certain criteria before returning to the lineup.
Sources: Golden State’s Draymond Green is expected to receive counseling and work with the Warriors and NBA while suspended after striking Phoenix’s Jusuf Nurkic in the head on Tuesday night. He has to meet criteria before a return to play. pic.twitter.com/MD3drwvVag
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 14, 2023
Following the game, Green did apologize in his post-game press conference. Although, it was a rather odd apology, as Green made it clear that he was apologizing because he did not intend to hit Nurkic.
Had he intended to hit him, there would have been no apology:
“As you know, I’m not one to apologize for things that I mean to do, but I do apologize to Jusuf because I didn’t intend to hit him.”
Draymond Green on his ejection tonight pic.twitter.com/0GuPtkL2ik
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) December 13, 2023
Nurkic also addressed the incident, remarking that Green “needs help:”
The Warriors forward has a history of incidents, which was taken into account last spring when the league suspended him for Game 3 of the Warriors’ first-round series against the Sacramento Kings. After Green stepped down hard on Domantas Sabonis’ chest in the fourth quarter of Game 2, he was ejected from the Warriors’ loss.
In handing down the one-game suspension last April NBA executive vice president and head of basketball operations, Joe Dumars, cited his history as a “repeat offender,” as well as his “excessive and over-the-top actions” when sidelining him for Game 3.
In the official announcement that was released earlier in the season for the Gobert-related suspension, Dumars cited Green’s “history of unsportsmanlike acts:”
Here’s the announcement from Woj:
According to subsequent reports from both Wojnarowski and Shams Charania, Green is expected to receive counseling, and the player will meet Thursday with Warriors GM Mike Dunleavy Jr., and Green’s agent Rich Paul to discuss a “path forward.”
Green’s lack of availability because of ejections and suspensions is starting to be a real problem for a Warriors team that’s off to an underwhelming 10-13 start. Now we wait and see how long it will be before Green takes the floor again.