Draymond Green suspended indefinitely by the NBA
The league has seen enough, and so have the players, the fans, referees, and myself. Basketball is rather a physical sport, but this has gone on way too long. To be fair, Draymond Green has no one to blame but himself.
A 4x NBA Champion, Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green is known for his defensive prowess and playmaking. While he's future Hall of Fame candidate, No. 23 has been subject to controversy his entire career. Tuesday night. Green struck Jusuf Nurkić in a matchup against the Phoenix Suns after the two were at battle for their positions. After receiving a Flagrant foul 2, Green was then ejected from the game.
And then came the breaking news that sent shockwaves across the basketball world. The NBA suspended Draymond Green indefinitely. While we don't know for how long, it was the best course of action. In this case, it will give Green the time to receive proper help and treatment for his actions on and off the court.
This is his second suspension of the year
https://twitter.com/jxyyswrld/status/1735277404812190180/video/1Earning his third ejection of the 2023-2024 season, Green has lost control of his anger and temper in several instances. While he's vital to the Warriors success, it cannot come at the expense of volatile acts on other players. This incident comes less than a month since he was suspended five games for putting Timberwolves big man Rudy Gobert into a headlock. The 33 year old now has 19 cumulative career ejections, the second most behind Rasheed Wallace, who had 29.
From a full blown fight with Bradley Beal in 2017, Green has also gotten into altercations with with refs on numerous occasions. Unable to keep his cool, the forward received his first career postseason ejection against the Memphis Grizzlies in 2022. One his most notorious ejections came with the stomping on Kings Domantas Sabonis in the playoffs last year. Off the court, we've seen him get into full on fights with ex-teammate Jordan Poole via leaked videos online.
Rather than attacking Draymond, the news has come from a place of concern, and the league has finally put their foot down. Handed down by NBA executive Joe Dumars, the NBA has issued Green a rare, yet very necessary suspension. While the games missed are undetermined, the NBA stated in a press release that the suspension will begin immediately.
The last time the league has seen in indefinite suspension was in 2010 when former Wizards player Gilbert Arenas brought a firearm into the team building. From then on, former NBA Commissioner David Stern handed him an indefinite suspension. In fact, his NBA career was never the same, and shortly dwindled out a few years later.
The NBA release a PR statement on Draymond Green
The following was released by the NBA. pic.twitter.com/MUyW5ygJsb
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) December 14, 2023
For Draymond, he will be required to meet certain league and team conditions before he returns to play, stated in an NBA press release. Per the league, 'this outcome takes into account Green's repeated history of unsportsmanlike acts.'
Post game, Green stated he didn't intended to hit Nurkić in the face. Intending to sell the call, he was clear he was not going to apologize for the incident.
"I sell calls with my arms, so I was selling the call, and I swung and unfortunately I hit him, " Green said post game on Tuesday.
With the Warriors at 10-13, they have lost two games in a row, and will be without one of their best defensive playmakers. Although his future in unknown in Golden State, he's been nothing but a distraction for the team. In a very competitive Western Conference, the Warriors are 3-5 without Green in matchups.
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) December 13, 2023
Former teammate Kevin Durant shared his thoughts on the incident. For Durant, he's now a member of the Phoenix Suns, and won two Championships with Green and the Warriors in 2017 and 2018.
"It was insane to see," Durant told the media. "Glad Nurk [Nurkić] is all right. Never seen that before in a basketball court in an NBA game. I hope Draymond gets the help he needs--It's been incident after incident. Hopefully, he gets the help he needs to get back on the court and put all this stuff behind him."
For Durant, he insisted Green wasn't that way around him and when he entered the league.
Represented by Rich Paul, of Klutch Sports Group, Green has earned up to $2,239,780 in finals over 11 year career. Due to earn $22,321,429 this season, the Warriors forward signed a 4-year $100 million contract in July.
While I like Draymond and his competitive spirit, the violence simply has to stop. More news on Draymond Green to come.
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Sara Jane Gamelli is a full-time Sportswriter at Ballislife, and Sports Content Creator on Twitch and TikTok. She has a focus on the NBA, WNBA, NCAA Basketball, and the NFL. Sara Jane currently resides in Connecticut/NYC area with her Cat and Dog. SJ has her undergraduate degree from the University of Connecticut in Economics, with a minor in business administration.
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