Warriors star Draymond Green suspended indefinitely by NBA
SAN FRANCISCO — Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green was suspended indefinitely by the NBA on Wednesday, less than 24 hours after he hit Phoenix Suns center Jusuf Nurkic in the face and received a Flagrant 2 foul and ejection.
The league said the penalty handed down by operations chief Joe Dumars begins immediately. This is already Green’s second suspension this season.
“He will be required to meet certain league and team conditions before he returns to play,” the league said.
The NBA noted that “this outcome takes into account Green’s repeated history of unsportsmanlike acts.”
The Warriors didn’t have a statement Wednesday but said Green’s suspension would be addressed at shootaround Thursday in Los Angeles ahead of a game against the Clippers.
The 33-year-old Green, part of four Warriors championships, was ejected for the 18th time in his career — most among active NBA players.
As the Warriors were inbounding the ball near their own bench early in the third quarter in a 119-116 loss at Phoenix, Green and Nurkic were fighting for position near the baseline corner and the two tangled. Green appeared to slip slightly then pivoted around right into Nurkic with his right arm connecting with the big man’s face.
Nurkic fell to the ground instantly and stayed down briefly before getting up to remain in the game.
“That had nothing to do with basketball,” Nurkic said.
Green was suspended five games by the NBA for putting Minnesota’s Rudy Gobert into a headlock during an altercation in November.
There is little precedent for an indefinite suspension. In 2010, then-Commissioner David Stern suspended Washington guard Gilbert Arenas indefinitely for bringing firearms into the team locker room. That was a precursor to what became a 50-game suspension for Arenas, after Stern said “his ongoing conduct … led me to conclude that he is not currently fit to take the court in an NBA game.”
