When Will the NBA Take a Stand Against Draymond Green's Unacceptable Violent Behavior?
If once is an accident, twice is a coincidence, and three times is a pattern, then what is four, five or six times? Draymond Green has been suspended four times, and he is about to receive his fifth NBA suspension after delivering an open handed punch to the face of Phoenix' Jusuf Nurkic. Green was assessed a Flagrant Foul 2--which carries with it automatic ejection--at the 8:23 mark of the third quarter of the Suns' 119-116 win over the Warriors. Green's Warriors led 65-60 when Green was ejected.
In his post-game press conference, Green claimed that he did not intend to hit Nurkic and he apologized for hitting Nurkic. Green said that he was trying to "sell the foul" because Nurkic was pulling on his hip. If Green is asserting that he lacks control over his body movements to the extent that he cannot prevent himself from hitting someone in the face while playing basketball, then Green should immediately receive a neurological examination to determine what is wrong with him. I have played basketball for over 40 years. Although I never played in the NBA, I know what it means specifically to post up/play post defense, and I know in general what it means to control your body movements while sharing the court with nine other players. I don't possess Green's athletic abilities/body control, but I have never hit anyone on a basketball court the way that Green hit Nurkic, and I have never seen anyone hit someone like that on a basketball court by accident.
I don't know how good of a fighter Green is--because he very carefully avoids getting in fights (see below)--but he is a terrible actor and a worse liar. Anyone who has ever played basketball knows that (1) Green meant to hit Jurkic and (2) Green is lying when he suggests otherwise. TNT's Jamal Crawford noted that if Green had felt apologetic then he would have immediately said "My bad" and helped Nurkic up, which was also my immediate reaction when Green provided his disingenuous account of his actions.
After the game, Jurkic said that Green needs help, that he's glad Green did not choke him (a reference to what Green recently did to Rudy Gobert), and that what Green did had nothing to do with basketball.
Green has complained that the NBA singles him out for special, harsher treatment. I agree with Jeff Van Gundy's point that in fact Green receives special, beneficial treatment: Green is expected to behave poorly, so he is therefore given a benefit of the doubt that is not given to players who are more mild-mannered, and he is often not ejected despite behavior that results in ejections for other players. Last night, Denver's Nikola Jokic--a two-time regular season MVP and the 2023 NBA Finals MVP--was ejected after just one technical foul for complaining about a non-call in a manner that would be considered mild by Green's histrionic standards.
The NBA has been way too easy on Green. Less than a month ago, the NBA suspended Green for five games for "unsportsmanlike and dangerous" conduct after Green put Minnesota's Rudy Gobert into a headlock. A five game suspension stacked on top of Green's previous suspensions, ejections, and technical fouls clearly was not sufficient to change Green's behavior, so I offer two suggestions to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver--one silly suggestion, and one serious suggestion (the reader can determine which is which):
1) Implement a special Draymond Green rule: any player--teammate or opponent--who is hit, kicked, choked, or otherwise accosted by Green has the right to immediately deliver exactly the same blow to Green without punishment, and if that player declines to do so then he may appoint a teammate to do so on his behalf. Green professes to be a tough guy who does not back down from anyone, so let's put that to the test, because so far we have only seen Green acting out in situations where he knows that the people he attacked will not strike back because (1) they are not prone to committing physical violence, and (2) they know that the NBA will punish them for striking back. So, let's remove those restrictions and put Green in a FOFO (Fool Around and Find Out) situation the next time he feels like hitting, kicking, or choking someone. Clearly, Green does not care about suspensions/fines because (1) he is self-centered and not concerned about how his behavior harms his team, and (2) he has made so much money already that the fines don't impact his lifestyle; my theory is that Green will suddenly become much better at anger
management if there is 100% certainty that his next punch will be
immediately met by a punch, particularly if that punch will be delivered by the toughest guy on the other team even if that is not the guy who Green hit.
2) Suspend Green for at least 10 games, and make his return to action conditional on successful completion of anger management classes. If the Players Association objects, then Commissioner Silver should point out how absurd it is for the Players Association to protect someone who is attacking fellow Players Association members. If a fan jumped out of the stands and clubbed Nurkic in the face, what punishment would the Players Association deem to be appropriate? It would be more than suspending the fan from attending the next 10 games. The Players Association would demand that the fan be banned for life and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
If the NBA keeps protecting Green from the natural consequences of his actions, Green is going to eventually do something so egregious that the NBA will no longer be able to protect him because the judicial system will be compelled to intervene. Draymond Green is a 6-6, 230 walking time bomb that is going to explode in the league's face if Commissioner Silver does not take strong action--and if time bomb Green explodes, the league is not going to be able to successfully argue in court that the explosion was not foreseeable given Green's track record of violent behavior.
Labels: Adam Silver, Draymond Green, Golden State Warriors, Jusuf Nurkic, Phoenix Suns
posted by David Friedman @ 2:51 AM
3 Comments:
David,
Somehow the media still spins Green's garbage as a strategic loss for the Warriors--based on the number of games that he would get suspended for, or how they would miss his grossly overrated playmaking and defense--instead of the outright escalation and dangerous nature of his behavior. He's a walking time bomb, as you said, and he will be the end of the NBA--and another player's life (teammate or opponent)--when (not if) he crosses that line.
He exaggerated his gyrations to sell a non-existent foul call, or give himself an excuse to clock Nurkic. For the safety of other players / coaches / referees, the NBA should permanently ban Green, but which--for possible reasons that can only be guessed--probably won't happen until the damage has been done.
Tristan:
Although I would not mind a "permanent ban," that is not going to happen. Commissioner Silver tends to be soft on such matters, but he also tries to figure out which way the wind is blowing so that the media and the Players Association will support what he does. I hope he suspends Green at least 10 games, but Silver's actions will be based on his perception of how the media and the Players Association will react.
at this rate media will feel sorry for him when he kills someone on the court eventually.... disgusting
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