NBA suspends Draymond Green indefinitely

2023-12-14 12:15:38

The NBA announced this Wednesday an indefinite suspension for Draymond Green (Golden State Warriors), who on Tuesday He was sent off for the third time this season after slapping Jusuf Nurkic in the face. (Phoenix Suns).

The NBAwhat He already suspended Green for five games for an expulsion earlier this seasonassured that in this decision he took into consideration “the repeated history of unsportsmanlike actions” of this player.

The suspension will begin immediately and Green will have to meet certain league and team requirements, not specified in the press release, in order to return to the field.

Adrian Wojnarowski (ESPN) and Shams Charania (The Athtletic), the two journalists with the best sources within the NBA, maintained that Green will receive professional support and help so that a similar situation does not happen again.

Wojnarowski also assured that Green will meet with Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. and his agent, Rich Paul, to establish the roadmap for his return. “The league did not want to put a specific number (of games) on the suspension but it allowed Green to take the time he may need to deal with the challenges he is facing,” the ESPN journalist wrote on X, the social network formerly known as Twitter.

Green’s indefinite absence means one more problem for Warriors in total crisis with a terrible record of 4-11 in their last 15 games (10-13 in total balance).

The keys to expulsion

Green He was expelled this Tuesday for slapping Nurkic in the face in the game between the Phoenix Suns and the Golden State Warriors. With 8.23 ​​in the third quarter, the Warriors center was fighting to gain position in front of the Suns interior when he turned around and hit Nurkic in the face, who ended up on the ground.

The referees reviewed what happened and whistled flagrant type 2, so Green went to the shower early.

Green, essential in Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson’s Warriors but who has a long history of very controversial and controversial actionswas already expelled twice this year.

The most serious of these was in mid-November when He grabbed Rudy Gobert by the neck with a key in a brawl in the duel against the Minnesota Timberwolves, an expulsion for which he also received a five-game ban from the NBA.

After Tuesday’s game, which ended with a victory for the Suns (119-116), Green appeared before the media and apologized to Nurkic. “He was grabbing my hip and I was moving to try to get the referees to see a foul and making contact with him. As you know, I’m not one to apologize for things I wanted to do, but Yes, I apologize to Jusuf because I had no intention of hitting him.“he said in a press conference.

Green repeated his apologies on several occasions, acknowledging that it was “a hard blow” which falls into the category of flagrant type 2 and noted that it was an “unfortunate” incident in which he made contact with Nurkic accidentally.

For his part, Nurkic, also before journalists after the meeting, gave his version of what happened and showed his concern for Green’s mental health. “What’s wrong with him? I don’t know. Personally I think this brother needs help. “I’m glad he didn’t try to drown me… But at the same time it had nothing to do with basketball,” the center said, ironically.

“I’m there trying to play basketball and he’s there hitting. I think we’ve seen it a lot, but I hope whatever he has in his life gets better,” he added.