The indefinite suspension Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green received for a blow to the face of Phoenix Suns center Jusuf Nurkic earlier this week has been a major talking point around the NBA.
Green’s former teammate, Kevin Durant, already expressed his concern over Green and his antics. “I hope Draymond gets the help he needs. It’s been incident after incident,” Durant said of Green.
This latest ban came after Green was suspended five games earlier in the season for placing Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert in a chokehold.
Those around the league, including top executives, are now opening up about the four-time champion. That includes NBA vice president and head of basketball operations Joe Dumars, who had an astonishing take on the embattled future Hall of Famer.
“You wanna see guys grow and you wanna do what’s best for them. Clearly something is going on. Clearly, he’s crossed a line and we need to deal with it,” Dumars said on ESPN’s First Take.
Green is required to satisfy certain league and team conditions before he’s able to return to the court. That includes counseling. Hence, the indefinite ban. Dumars touched on that, too.
“The reason we don’t have a number is because the help that he needs to get, getting himself better, is what’s most important,” Dumars said.
Related: 5 times Draymond Green has lost his cool on the court
For the NBA, it’s as much about Green’s history as it is about the most-recent incident. In the past calendar year alone, the veteran has been suspended four times. That included stomping on the chest of Sacramento Kings big man Domantas Sabonis during the 2023 NBA Playoffs.
As for what we saw transpire between Green and Nurkic, Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. is in agreement with the league over the suspension.
“We understand there’s a punishment that will take place but this is also about helping somebody,” Dunleavy on the Draymond Green suspension, via ESPN. “They 100% agreed. So did Draymond.”
Green’s agent Rich Paul over at Klutch Sports is expected to meet with the Warriors’ brass on Thursday to discuss a path forward.
Golden State finds itself at an ugly 10-13 heading into Thursday night’s game against the Los Angeles Clippers. It is now going to be without one of the franchise’s cornerstones for the foreseeable future. That’s another major backdrop to this most-recent incident.