Warriors’ Draymond Green reportedly begins counseling, will miss at least 3 weeks
Draymond Green is taking the first steps to get back on the court after receiving an indefinite suspension.
The Warriors star forward has begun counseling and is expected to miss at least three weeks, The Athletic reported Monday.
Green received an indefinite suspension from the NBA on Dec. 13 for hitting Suns center Jusuf Nurkic in the face during a game the day prior. He was assessed a Flagrant 2 foul for the play, which is an automatic ejection. It was the third time he’s been ejected from a game this season.
The indefinite suspension also marked the second time Green has been suspended this year. He received a five-game suspension for putting Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert in a headlock during an altercation in a game on Nov. 14. When the NBA announced Green’s punishment, it stated that his “repeated history of unsportsmanlike acts” went into the decision to give him a rare indefinite suspension.
“He will be required to meet certain league and team conditions before he returns to play,” the NBA said in its statement, which noted that the suspension was handed down by operations chief Joe Dumars.
Green, his agent Rich Paul and Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy met with the NBA on Thursday to discuss the player’s path to returning to game action.
“We understand there’s a punishment that will take place, but this is also about helping somebody. They 100 percent agreed. So did Draymond,” Dunleavy told reporters following Thursday’s meeting.
As for Green, he hasn’t made any public comments since the suspension was handed down. But he apologized to Nurkic for his actions following his ejection.
“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 on Dec. 12. “I sell calls with my arms … so I was selling the call … and I swung and unfortunately I hit him.”
With Green set to remain sidelined for at least the next three weeks, he will miss several pivotal matchups for the Warriors, including their Christmas Day game against the Nuggets. Seven of the team’s 10 games between Monday and Jan. 8 are against teams well above .500.
The Warriors improved to 12-14 following their close win over the Trail Blazers on Sunday night, sitting in 11th place in the Western Conference standings as of Monday. Golden State has gone 2-1 since Green received an indefinite suspension after going 2-3 in the five games without him in November.
National Basketball Association
Golden State Warriors
Draymond Green
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