Warriors forward Draymond Green was ejected from a game for the third time this season on Tuesday, earning a flagrant 2 foul for striking Suns center Jusuf Nurkic in the head during the third quarter of Phoenix’s win (Twitter video link via TSN Sports).
The NBA is expected to review the incident before the Warriors’ game against the Clippers on Thursday and will likely suspend Green for a second time this fall, according to Anthony Slater and Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic. The former Defensive Player of the Year was previously suspended five games for putting Rudy Gobert in a headlock, with the league citing Green’s “history of unsportsmanlike acts” when announcing that penalty.
“I am not one to apologize for things I mean to do, but I do apologize to Jusuf because I didn’t intend to hit him,” Green said after the game, per Kendra Andrews of ESPN. “I sell calls with my arms … so I was selling the call … and I swung and unfortunately I hit him.
“… You guys have known me long enough, if I intended to do something, I am not apologizing. But I did make contact with him, so I do apologize. … It’s a hard hit.”
Although the blow sent Nurkic to the floor, the big man was able to finish the game. After the victory, he told reporters that the play had “nothing to do with basketball,” while Suns head coach Frank Vogel referred to it as “reckless (and) dangerous,” according to Andrews.
“I’m sensitive to our guys getting hit on plays like that,” Vogel said. “I didn’t like it. The refs did what they had to do. The league will do what they have to do.”
Another suspension for Green could result in more playing time for young players like Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody, and perhaps Trayce Jackson-Davis, as well as veterans Dario Saric and Kevon Looney.
Both Kuminga and Saric, as well as rookie Brandin Podziemski, were part of Golden State’s closing lineup on Tuesday, alongside Stephen Curry and Chris Paul, with Green unavailable and starters Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins, and Looney on the bench.
Thompson, whose scoring and shooting numbers this season are well below his career norms, told reporters after the game that it was “strange” to be benched down the stretch, but he didn’t question head coach Steve Kerr‘s decision.
“I played like crap,” Thompson said, per Andrews. “If you’ve ever played basketball before, you know what you are capable of. You always want to be out there competing. That’s just facts … but I deserved to be benched. I’ve been playing like crap. Twenty games in, I haven’t found a rhythm.”
Can’t believe there are no apologist here yet. I’d have tio think this is going to get 10 games if not more. Enough already Draymond.
They’re face-timing to compare notes, and come up with a solid, believable explanation. Maybe it will take a while..like until the pending suspension is up, and he “unintentionally” powerbombs an opposing team’s coach.
That was my initial guess. It’ll be 10 and he’ll appeal it down to 8.
Draymond is an actual clown. I’m not going to argue he doesn’t do some things well on the court, but at some point this complete buffoonery has got to get checked in a much more serious way. It’s not a great comparison but I think about Pat Bev and how most people aren’t fond of him and his shenanigans until he’s on your team and then you love the guy; I don’t think if my team had Draymond I’d learn to love his idiocy.
“Buffoonery” would be tripping or pinching someone, maybe pulling one’s hair.
Green, however, violently assaults and injures people with intent. His actions are felonious. He’s a criminal, not just a “clown”.
Who has he ever injured? He’s out of control but I don’t recall him ever injuring anyone. Maybe Poole’s confidence?
So every NHL player is a felon as well?
Yeah agreed… Draymond makes PatBev look like a controlled player…
Green is a criminal out-of-control thug. Beating up teammates, deliberately stomping, choking and hitting opposing players does not display the behavior of a normal human being.
Anywhere else in the world an athlete like this would have received a lifetime suspension a long time ago or would have been blacklisted within his/her sport.
Albert Belle would like a word, lol. Do you know how many fights that man got into? On the field and off?
Anyway, Draymond deserves a suspension. A *long* one, at least in the vein of Morant. He’s just out of control. But he’s not attacking fans or people outside of the realm of basketball at all, so no one will charge him with criminal acts. It isn’t happening.
Just because one commits crimes within the realms of sports facilities doesn’t make respective actions any less felonious and liable.
Recently the president of Turkish football club Ankaragücü and two others have been arrested after assaulting a referee on the pitch. Play across all football leagues in Turkey has been suspended and the club faces drastic punishment from the FA and possibly from UEFA, too.
What message does a professional sports organization send to fans and society by tolerating acts of utterly objectionable violence?
I’m not defending Draymond at all, as you seem to think. He’s an imbecile. I’m pointing out that there’s reasons why he’s not getting criminally charged.
Those UEFA suspension are league punishments, and the two assaulting a *ref* carries the same weight that assaulting a fan would. Also, it was more serious than a single hit or push, which is what Draymond has done.
Draymond has yet to hit anyone who isn’t another player. And the Poole situation was the most *damage* he ever did, on or off the court, and that still took place during practice and during a clear argument. Pat Bev has caused worse injuries with his antics; Draymond has never *crippled* anyone, for example. And he never followed up any attacks by continuing to hit someone while they’re down, which would warrant a closer look. He’s like Bill Lambieer, hitting someone *once* or doing *one act* and then walking away. He doesn’t *fight*, he starts sh*t and then stands back and laughs. Hell, Blake Griffin hitting a staffer and breaking his own hand was arguably more “serious” from a legal standpoint. And he barely got any flak for that at all.
While Green’s history means he’s more likely to get suspended, it also means that people tend to brush off his BS as just “Draymond being Draymond” rather than “lock him up”.
He’s in the wrong, no one with a brain would think otherwise. But he’s not getting arrested unless he attacks someone off the court or hits a fan/ref. You should realize that by now. That’s not the way things are handled, particularly not when he has yet to cause lasting injury. You can’t jail someone for what *might* happen.
Suspension or league bans though? Bring ’em on. Please get this idiot into therapy or gone.
Something has to be done with Green! It’s time for a 50 game suspension with no pay!
You have to give him 10 games minimum at this point. Nothing’s changing.
It’s time. To let go of Draymond.
A 10-game suspension sounds completely unfair.
20 games suspension should be the minimum for this buffoon.
Green needs to be suspended from the game
Indefinitely, career over.
He’s lost it. Someone’s going to get hurt.
I wonder if the Warriors are happy Draymond ruined another win for them?
Starting to look like a big decision coming for the warriors soon. Time to trade away the old players and get ready for a rebuild. Thompson and Wiggins both played poorly again. They need to take some time and play without Green and see how well they can play without him. They look better on the court offensively without Green.
It will be one ugly trade deadline
Sometimes its time to move on.
They’ve got to pull the plug on the “let them ride off into the sunset” idea…
Maybe have Curry as that one who spent their entire career there… Klay if they are keen for a tanking year or 2…
But Draymond will only serve to bring down the teams reputation… The Warriors should treat him more like Chicago treated Rodman…
Gee who saw this coming? Funny how even the Warriors fans are turning. Anyone see Steph kick that chair? What a joke franchise. Ya hate to see it.
Its more stubbornness by Kerr playing the same lineup. Same play at the end of the game too. Everyone in the building knows the ball goes to Curry who gets double teamed for the last shot. Why not design a play where its not Curry with the ball?
Because no one else is making plays. Also what’s stopping curry from passing? I’ll wait…
Warriors messed up extra bad extending this idiot. He seems like a perfect Detroit player and would fit that team perfect and they’d still be on a 20 and counting losing streak even with him on the roster. Then we might see a lifetime ban when he isn’t on a California team. Poole was a good salary dump trade but getting an extra old Paul isn’t going to help a rebuild. Klay is done and not worth close to max. They should’ve kept curry and redid the rest of the roster around him only.
The antics are adding up 15-20 games. He is a dirty player and no way to justify any of what he is doing.
Firstly, Draymond deserves a lengthy suspension for an unnecessary assault, without question.
Secondly, to see Nurkic drop like a bag of hammers, stay down, then return to the game w/o injury made me question if he embellished. NOT condoning the assault, but it’s arguable that he milked it given the offender.
I’d have milked it too if that POS had the nerve to swing at me, even if it wasn’t with a closed fist. Anything to get that trash off the court. Better for the game.
He was just selling it…
In all seriousness, I’ve seen players in football lying in what appears to be absolute agony, only to return a couple plays later like nothing happened.
Perhaps in many of these scenarios, there’s a bit of shock involved that wears off once they realize it doesn’t hurt as much as they first thought.
Draymond is looking at a serious 3 game suspension. Silver would never punish his golden child. It’s OK Draymond slap somebody. He probably deserved it
imagine if teams started doing what he does to Curry the player doing anything to Curry wouldn’t get a slap on the wrist
He does this all the time. What the NBA has done about it until now (if anything) clearly hasn’t helped. Draymond will do that stuff again und the Warriors and Kerr will defend him again.
Since Silver’s previous strategy obviously hasn’t changed Draymond’s behavior, it’s time to bring out the big guns.
Ban him for 25 games. If he does it again 50. If he does it again after that, ban him for life.
He punches opponents in the nutz, steps on their chests, sucker punches teammates, chokes opponents, punches opponents…
What is his upside that the NBA (evidently) feels like they HAVE to have this guy in the league??
Its looking more and more like the Blazers are getting a top 10 pick from GS next year.
You can take Draymond out the hood, can’t take the hood out of Draymond.
He wasn’t wearing a hoodie he was wearing his uniform? He was playing in the game thats the whole point lol
Bruh
Said it After the Rudy’incident what if he does it again … He should have been warned for a 25 games suspension like in case of violence. Go see Jah therapist and come cool headed in 2024
Good point re: Ja. If Ja got 25 games for another infraction so soon after his previous one, there’s no reason Draymond doesn’t deserve the same punishment with a much lengthier rap sheet.
This was excusable when the warriors were good but now it’s just pathetic. Old team losing their legs and green running around assaulting people like a shiftless hobo
Such great enjoyment to watch Kerr who can’t coach prove it. What a snuck he is when he speaks about himself. Pride will get you.
Keep letting him slide and the day is gonna come where he punches a ref, Kerr, or someone as significant
Exactly…or worse. This stuff doesn’t come from nowhere. Draymond has anger issues that could easily become something the NBA regrets far more than Ja holding a gun.
So many people happy to see the warriors fail after watching them destroy your sad teams for the last decade.
Wah wah arrest Draymond he slapped a grown man who flopped to the ground to sell it.
Moron children on this site probably don’t even know how unwatchable the NBA was before the warriors.
Sell your sad absolutist takes somewhere else.
Your tears taste delicious
The NBA was a hell of a lot more watchable than there weren’t a bunch of lazy assclowns on every team hoisting bricks in vain attempts to drain a three.
That’s not how the internet works kiddo…
He is only hurting the GS Warriors, he is supposed to be a leader of the team, you cannot lead the team when you are suspended. What is the Warrior record when he gets suspended? It is not good.
Anyone remember when he accidentally lightly stepped on Sabonis? Funny how those people seem to be quite these days.
This was almost unbelievable to watch live and it might be even more shocking that he’s saying he didn’t mean to hit Nurk. Not sure why he thought admitting to selling calls (aka flopping) was better than just saying it was a mistake.
If a chokehold is just 5 games, a spinning slap can’t be more than 3. Block draymond’s IP from viewing ppv fights and let the dubs move on from this bs
This is where a real commissioner would come in handy. Green said he didn’t regret his actions in the Gobert incident, and, based on the punishment, I can see why. His sociopathic behavior is being treated like just another form of unsportsman like conduct, which almost ratifies it to a degree.
If he wants to fight, legally, then call Dana White. I’m sure he can arrange something mutually profitable.
What were you saying about a real commissioner?
I love Nurk’s responses “Personally, I feel like that brother needs help. I’m glad he [didn’t] try to choke me, but at the same time, it had nothing to do with basketball, man.” and “I hope whatever he’s got [going on] in his life it gets better.”
Green needs a real suspension this time and he’s trying to lessen the severity by apologizing. It could go one of two ways through. 1. The league as they usually do give him a small suspension to continue to protect the Warriors and Curry in hopes that they can still make the playoffs as him missing extended time virtually kills their season. 2. The league sends a message this time and gives Green a long suspension because they’ve determined the Warrior’s ship is already sinking.
Is now the time when Curry will ask to be traded to Charlotte? Or will he wait till next year?
“DirtyDra” at it again !!!!
Violence should be punished far stricter in this league…
At this point it’s like old Draymond just wants a reason to have a few games off during a down year for the Warriors…
Silver needs to come down hard on this fool before younger players with their own anger management issues start thinking it’s ok to act out…
Shocking how a world class athlete has so little control over his body. Unintentional my a**!