KD hopes Draymond “gets the help he needs” after suspension originally broke on NBC Sports Bay Area
Kevin Durant is worried about Draymond Green after his former Warriors teammate was recently suspended indefinitely.
The Phoenix Suns superstar, who did not play in Tuesday's game due to a sprained left ankle, commented on the incident between Green and Suns center Jusuf Nurkić.
“Yeah, that was crazy to see,” Durant said Wednesday. “I'm glad Nurk is doing well. I’ve never seen that before on the basketball court in an NBA game.”
“I hope Draymond gets the help he needs. There was one incident after another. I know Draymond and… he wasn't like that when I was around him and came into the league. So hopefully he gets the help he needs, and gets back on the field and puts all of this behind him.”
Green was sent off in the third quarter of Golden State's 119-116 loss to Phoenix at the Footprint Center after officials gave him a Flagrant 2 foul for tackling Nurkić and punching him in the face during an inbounds play had.
It was the third time this season that Green was ejected from a game.
When speaking to reporters after the game, Nurkić was asked about the incident and shared a similar opinion to Durant.
“What’s wrong with him? I don’t know,” Nurkić said. “This brother needs help. I'm glad he didn't try to strangle me. But at the same time, it had nothing to do with basketball. “I'm just trying to play basketball and they're out there swinging.”
“I think we’ve seen that a lot. I hope whatever he got in his life gets better.”
Green is no stranger to extracurricular conflicts on the field, but this season saw a worrying uptick in a short space of time.
Of Golden State's 23 games, Green appeared in 15, was ejected in three games, suspended in five games, and missed two due to injury and one for personal reasons.
Before the Nurkic incident, Green was ejected from the Warriors' Nov. 14 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves for putting Rudy Gobert in a chokehold after Klay Thompson and Jaden McDaniels got into a heated scuffle. The heated exchange resulted in a five-game suspension for Green.
Green said he apologized to Nurkić and regretted his actions after Tuesday's defeat. But as one of the Warriors' most important leaders, words can only mean so much.
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