SAN FRANCISCO (AP)— The NBA suspended Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green indefinitely on Wednesday, less than 24 hours after hitting Phoenix Suns centre Jusuf Nurkic in the face, resulting in a Flagrant 2 foul and ejection.
According to the league, the penalty imposed by operations chief Joe Dumars will take effect immediately. This is Green’s second suspension this season.
“He will be required to meet certain league and team conditions before he returns to play,” the league stated in a statement.
According to the NBA, “this outcome takes into account Green’s repeated history of unsportsmanlike acts.”
The Warriors did not issue a statement Wednesday, but indicated Green’s ban would be discussed at a shootaround Thursday in Los Angeles before a game against the Clippers.
Green, 33, a member of four Warriors championship teams, was ejected for the 18th time in his career, the most among active NBA players.
Green and Nurkic clashed early in the third quarter of the Warriors’ 119-116 loss to Phoenix while inbounding the ball near their own bench. Green appeared to slip slightly before pivoting right into Nurkic, his right arm colliding with the big man’s face.
Nurkic immediately fell to the ground and remained there for a short time before rising back up to continue playing.
“That had nothing to do with basketball,” Nurkic explained. “I’m just out there trying to play basketball.”
The NBA punished Green for five games after he put Minnesota’s Rudy Gobert in a headlock during an argument in November.
There is little precedent for indefinite suspension. In 2010, then-Commissioner David Stern suspended Washington guard Gilbert Arenas indefinitely for carrying weapons into the locker room. Arenas received a 50-game suspension after Stern deemed him unfit to play in NBA games due to his continued conduct.
Last season, at training camp, Green took a leave of absence from the 2022 NBA champions in what coach Steve Kerr described as a “mutual decision” after viciously punching then-teammate Jordan Poole. Neither player was hurt.
When new Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy took over following last season, he stated that he was dedicated to maintaining Green, who was then awarded a new $100 million, four-year contract in late June. Kerr has always maintained he appreciates Green’s feisty, push-the-limits style of play—it will be intriguing to see how both sides come through this new discipline.
Green was suspended for Game 3 of the playoffs against the Sacramento Kings last spring after jumping on Domantas Sabonis’ chest in Game 2. The Warriors became the first defending champion to overcome a 0-2 deficit and win a playoff series.
In November 2018, Golden State suspended Green for one game for conduct detrimental to the club. In the last seconds of regulation during a 121-116 overtime loss on the road to the Clippers, Green retrieved a rebound and with Kevin Durant yelling for the ball
instead dribbled the length of the court into traffic, losing control as the Warriors were unable to get a shot off. Durant was seen on camera extremely agitated, and the two got into it later.
Green was suspended for Game 5 of the NBA Finals against LeBron James and the Cavaliers in 2016 after amassing too many flagrant fouls in the playoffs that season. The Warriors ended up losing in seven games. Bob Myers, then-GM, sat with Green close to Oracle Arena at the Oakland Coliseum for the game he missed.
Green, a second-round draft pick in 2012 from Michigan State, is averaging 9.7 points, 5.8 assists, and 5.5 rebounds in 15 games this season. He has lately stated that team cohesiveness has improved significantly this season. Poole was traded to Washington during the draft for Chris Paul.
Green stated that “it was hard to come to work” and “not fun.”
“Last year we had an awful team as far as chemistry goes — pathetic,” he went on to say. “You look back at last year and say, ‘Ah man, this team hasn’t lost a Western Conference series under Steve Kerr.’ Then it happens. The main issue is that our chemistry was terrible.”
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