Draymond Green reinstated by NBA after serving 12-game suspension
“Green completed steps that demonstrated his commitment to conforming his conduct to standards expected of NBA players,” the league said in a statement. “He has engaged in meetings with a counselor and has met jointly on multiple occasions with representatives of the NBA, the Warriors, and the National Basketball Players Association, both of which will continue throughout the season.”
The NBA’s unusual decision to indefinitely suspend Green came less than a month after the four-time all-star completed a five-game suspension for putting Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert in a headlock. At the time, NBA head of basketball operations Joe Dumars said in a statement that Green’s indefinite suspension “takes into account Green’s repeated history of unsportsmanlike acts.”
The Warriors (17-18), who held the Western Conference’s final play-in tournament spot entering Saturday’s action, are eager for reinforcements following recent injuries to Chris Paul and Gary Payton II. Paul is out indefinitely after suffering a fractured left hand during Friday’s win over the Detroit Pistons that will require him to undergo surgery next week.
Golden State’s upcoming schedule includes home games against the Toronto Raptors on Sunday and the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday before it departs on a four-game trip with games at the Chicago Bulls (Friday), Milwaukee Bucks (Jan. 13), Memphis Grizzlies (Jan. 15) and Utah Jazz (Jan. 17).
Green should provide a boost on both sides of the ball as an experienced facilitator and Golden State’s defensive anchor, but he will surely be under a microscope.
Green’s blow to Nurkic’s head came as the two battled for position on an inbounds play. Nurkic held the right side of Green’s body in an attempt to prevent him from breaking open to receive a pass, and Green responded by spinning counterclockwise toward Nurkic and wildly swinging his right arm. Replays showed Green made direct contact with the left side of Nurkic’s face, causing the Bosnian big man to fall to the ground.
“What’s going on with him? I don’t know,” Nurkic said of Green. “Personally, I feel like that brother needs help. I’m glad he didn’t try to choke me. At the same time, it ain’t nothing to do with basketball. I’m just out there trying to play basketball. He’s out there swinging. I think we saw that often. I hope whatever he’s got [going on] in his life, it gets better.”
During a postgame news conference, Green apologized to Nurkic, said the blow was unintentional and acknowledged his ejection was “warranted.”
“[Nurkic] was pulling my hip, and I was swinging away to sell the call and made contact with him,” Green said. “As you know, I’m not one to apologize for things I meant to do, but I do apologize to Jusuf because I didn’t intend to hit him. … A replay is never going to look good. I know my intentions. My intentions were to sell the call. I don’t think I’m an accurate enough puncher to do a full 360 and connect with someone. It’s unfortunate.”
Green, who was also tossed from the Warriors’ 118-110 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Nov. 11 for shoving Donovan Mitchell from behind during a transition play, is no stranger to league discipline. He was ejected from Game 2 and suspended for Game 3 of a first-round playoff series against the Sacramento Kings in April for stomping on center Domantas Sabonis’s chest. As it did in its statement following the Gobert suspension, the NBA noted at the time that the suspension was “based in part on Green’s history of unsportsmanlike acts.”
Perhaps most famously, Green hit LeBron James below the belt during the 2016 NBA Finals, prompting a one-game suspension that helped swing the series in favor of the Cavaliers. And in October 2022, Green punched then-teammate Jordan Poole at practice. Poole was traded to the Washington Wizards in the offseason, one week before the Warriors signed Green to a four-year, $100 million contract extension.
