Aside from dealing with the shooting woes of Klay Thompson and Andrew Wiggins, the Golden State Warriors seem to have a bigger problem on hand with Draymond Green. Always known for his antics on the court, Green has seemed to take things a little bit too far this season, as he is now staring down another suspension from the NBA after his recent ejection against the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday night.
In the third quarter against the Suns, Green got tangled up with big man Jusuf Nurkic in front of the Warriors' bench. While it appeared as if Nurkic was holding Green's hip, the officials made no call and continued to let the two battle it out. In an attempt to draw a foul, Green threw his body away from Nurkic and swung his arms out. Whether he was trying to strike Nurkic or not, Draymond made forcible contact with his opponent's face, which caused Nurkic to instantly fall to the ground in pain.
After going to the scorer's table to review the matter, the referees deemed that Green's actions were unnecessary and reckless, resulting in a Flagrant 2 and immediate ejection from the game. The Warriors' forward did not protest the call and went running back to the team's locker room. Leading by as many as 13 points in Phoenix, the Warriors went on to lose 119-116.
Green's actions on the court are beginning to get out of hand. Tuesday night marked the third time that Draymond had been ejected from a game this season, tying his career-high for ejections in a season, and he has only played in 15 total games. Perhaps the second most important player on this roster behind Stephen Curry due to his two-way play and leadership, Green has suddenly become a major liability that the Warriors cannot have patience with anymore.
“We need him. We need Draymond,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said in his postgame remarks. “He knows that, we’ve talked to him, and he’s got to find a way to keep his poise and be out there for his teammates.”
Just this offseason, Golden State re-signed Draymond to a four-year, $100 million contract. Now, his future with the Warriors is very much up for discussion, as his unwillingness to let things go on the court is directly impacting the team's chances of winning. Nothing is suggesting that the Warriors are thinking about trading Green, but when will enough be enough?
The league has already handed down discipline for Green's actions this season and now, nobody should be shocked to see another, lengthier suspension coming his way.
Draymond Green's apology
Whether or not Draymond Green intentionally tried to hit Jusuf Nurkic or if he accidentally struck him in the face may not matter in this situation. Green has a long history of unnecessary contact and ejections/technical fouls, something that the league office absolutely takes into account when evaluating the possibility of a suspension. In fact, Green's five-game suspension earlier this season was in part due to his previous history.
Nonetheless, Green seemed to begin making his case to the league following Tuesday night's game, as he made sure to apologize to Nurkic and explain his side of the story.
“He was pulling my hip and I was swinging away to sell the call and made contact with him,” Green said after the game. “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. I sell calls with my arms. I don't fall to sell a call. I don't flop. So, I was just selling the call because he was grabbing me and pulling my hip back. I spun away and unfortunately, I hit him.
“Like I said, I apologize to Jusuf because I didn't intend to hit him.”
Green did the right thing by getting ahead of things and at least apologizing to Nurkic, something he rarely ever does when defending his actions on the court. However, it will be hard for fans to believe what Green is saying, especially since Nurkic is not buying it either.
“What's going on with him? I don't know. Personally, I feel like that brother needs help,” Nurkic stated in his postgame remarks alongside Devin Booker. “I'm glad he didn't try to choke me. At the same time, it has nothing to do with basketball man. I'm just out there trying to play basketball… Hopefully, whatever he has going on in life, it gets better.”
By deciding to speak to the media on Tuesday night, Draymond is absolutely attempting to do a little bit of damage control because he knows that the league office has his number. Green is facing a lengthy suspension due to his recent history, especially since his track record is by no means spotless.
Recent ejections and suspensions
Ever since he entered the league, Draymond Green has been known for his hard fouls, smack-talking, and arguing calls with the officials. This has resulted in numerous technical fouls, flagrant fouls, and ejections that ultimately lead to suspensions from the league. Just breaking down what has happened so far this season is enough for the NBA to possibly drop the hammer on Green this time around.
On November 11 against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Draymond was bumped hard and fouled by All-Star Donovan Mitchell. Whether or not Mitchell was just frustrated or trying to draw a second technical foul on Green in this game, the two began jawing with one another and had to be separated.
When looking back on what had occurred prior to Mitchell's hard common foul on Green, the officials saw that the Warriors' forward had shoved the Cavs star in the back. As a result, Green was issued his second technical foul of the game and was ejected.
Then on Nov. 14 when the Warriors took on the Minnesota Timberwolves, Klay Thompson and Jaden McDaniels got into it with one another at halfcourt after grabbing onto one another and not letting go on a rebound attempt. As Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert entered the fold to try and pull Thompson away from his teammate, Green immediately came running in and put Gobert in a chokehold, dragging him off of Thompson. This all happened less than two minutes into the game. Upon a lengthy review, Green, Thompson, and McDaniels were all ejected from the game.
Whereas Thompson, Gobert, and McDaniels each received $25,000 fines from the league, Draymond was suspended five games for what the NBA deemed as “escalating an on-court altercation” and “forcibly grabbing” Gobert around his neck.
Flash-forward just about a month later and we are now in a very similar spot with Green. It is certainly possible that his actions were in the heat of the moment and Green striking Nurkic in the face was unintentional. Then again, his history of doing things like this does not look good, nor does the fact that Draymond never once went over to Nurkic while he was on the ground to see if he was alright. Most people who genuinely feel sorry for something, especially for an action of theirs, tend to check on the person that they hurt. That was not the case on Tuesday night.
The league office has made it clear that they will take previous history and actions into account when making rulings on possible suspensions, which is why the Warriors should be preparing to play without Green once again this season.
Length of possible suspension
Within the next 24 hours, we should have a ruling from the league office on whether or not the Warriors will be without Draymond Green due to a suspension. Multiple factors will be taken into account as the NBA reviews this matter, including if a suspension can be justified for the Warriors forward's actions.
Not only will past history and his recent suspension be taken into effect, but Green's motive in this situation will also be a huge factor that will determine a possible suspension.
Did Green actually mean to hit Nurkic in the face when he swung his arms behind him? Does this play meet the same criteria as Green's ejection earlier in the season for his headlock on Gobert? Can Tuesday's incident be described as unnecessary, but also unfortunate given the position both players were in?
These are all questions that the league office will be asking themselves as they review exactly what happened here between the Warriors and Suns.
It's also not hard to believe that the league will review their upcoming schedule and make a decision based on matchups. While this may not sound right, Green could potentially get off easy here with a light suspension since the Warriors play the Boston Celtics on Dec. 19, followed by the Denver Nuggets on Christmas Day. These are two huge, extremely marketable games for the NBA, which is why leaving the Warriors without Green for these games could potentially impact two of their biggest games of the season.
The talk amongst league personnel on Wednesday morning is that Green will be suspended. The duration of this possible suspension remains up in the air, as it truly depends on whether the league office wants to make an example out of Draymond. It's possible Green could be suspended for three games, it is possible he could be suspended five games, and it is also possible that he could be suspended seven or more games based on the league adding on his most recent history.
Based on the evidence that is present and taking his past into consideration, another five-game suspension seems to be the most likely outcome of Draymond's actions on Tuesday. This would be yet another “we are warning you” moment from Silver and the league, plus Green would not miss the Christmas Day game against Denver, a game the league surely wants both teams fully healthy and available for.
Green continues to walk a very tight rope every time he takes the court, which is why the biggest question that exists right now revolves around if he will eventually calm things down for his team's sake.
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