Draymond Green — who already served one five-game suspension this season for putting Rudy Gobert in a chokehold — could be facing another suspension.
Green was given a flagrant 2 and ejected in the third quarter Tuesday against Phoenix after this blow to the head of Jusuf Nurkic while trying to defend him.
Draymond Green was assessed a Flagrant 2 foul and ejected after this play
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) December 13, 2023
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Green said this was an accident, he was trying to sell a foul call — he was flopping — when the punch happened.
“As you know, I’m not one to apologize for things that I meant to do, but I do apologize to Jusuf because I didn’t intend to hit him,” Green said after the game.
There is no doubt Green deserved an ejection — this was not a few words or a player clapping, it was a hard blow to the head. The NBA will now review this on Wednesday, interview Green and others about the incident and his intent, and then decide on a suspension or a fine.
Expect another suspension. A long one.
This is Green’s third ejection already this season (tying his career high in a season). When he was suspended five games for putting Gobert in a chokehold, the league said Green’s history of ejections and incidents led to a longer punishment, and that could be the case here.
“We need him, we need Draymond,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said, adding he had not seen a video of the play and would not comment on it directly. “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.”
After Green’s last suspension, both Stephen Curry and Steve Kerr told Green this was it, the team could not afford to have him act out like this anymore. It hurt the team too much.
Yet here we are again.
