The NBA announced Wednesday that Warriors forward Draymond Green will be suspended indefinitely for punching Phoenix Suns center Jusuf Nurkić in the face during last night's game.
On Thursday morning, NBA Executive Vice President and Head of Basketball Operations Joe Dumars joined ESPN's “First Take” to explain why the league came to this decision and provide additional details about the suspension.
“A lot of times people get stuck on the number, like, 'What's the number?' We didn’t want that,” Dumars said. “What we wanted to do was we knew there would be some level of punishment, but we didn't want that to be the focus. We also wanted the focus to be on how we can help Draymond. We thought that would be the case indefinitely.” This is best done so that people don't wonder, “Is the number too low? Is it too high?”
“Indefinite means putting yourself in the right position. We want to see you at your best, and the best way to do that is to get yourself mentally and emotionally back to where you need to be.”
Green was sent off in the third quarter of Golden State's 119-116 loss to Phoenix after officials gave him a Flagrant 2 foul for tackling Nurkić and punching him in the face during an inbounds play.
Green later emphasized that he had no intention of hitting Nurkić, but rather was trying to sell a foul. However, his on-court conflicts and reputation throughout his 11-year NBA career were more than his words.
Green said Tuesday night that he apologized to Nurkić and reiterated that he was “not the one to apologize” for things he was up to. But Dumars said Green's words had “very little” to do with the punishment.
Smith asked Dumars if he thought an indefinite suspension should have been enforced sooner to prevent it from getting to this point.
“No,” Dumars said. “We are doing what we think is best at the moment. Decisions that we have made over the last 18 months or so have been discussed internally in detail here. These weren't just quick decisions. You come out of it.” “The best decision you can make at this point. So we’re really not going to go back and look at it again.”
Green's former teammate Andre Iguodala, who is now acting executive director of the National Basketball Players Association, was involved in the indefinite suspension decision.
“Andre Iguodala has been exceptional since taking on this role,” Dumars said. “He was on our side in this because when I spoke to Andre yesterday it was about Draymond getting better and what we can do together. What we can agree on together. What's best for Draymond right now, what's best for the Golden.” State Warriors, the best thing for the league office is that he gets better.
“And Andre was there.”
Like Iguodala, the Warriors agreed with the decision. The league spoke with coach Steve Kerr and general manager Mike Dunleavy, and Dumars said “every single unit” agreed that the indefinite suspension was the right thing to do.
After Tuesday night's game at the Footprint Center, Nurkić spoke out about the incident and sent a serious message to Green.
“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.”
The next day, Nurkić made it clear that he still had great respect for Green and had no “hatred” or “bad feelings” towards the four-time NBA champion.
Nurkić's Suns teammate Kevin Durant, who spent four seasons with Green and the Warriors, also weighed in on Tuesday night's events, saying he hopes Green gets the help he needs.
“When we see people saying things like that, we see it,” Dumars said of Durant and Nurkić’s comments. “If you look at it, it kind of confirms what we say internally. But it doesn't influence any part of the decision. It’s just another factor we’re looking at.”
“It’s a brotherhood, man. These guys, yes, they're going to compete, they may get into it, but at the end of the day this is a brotherhood and these guys want to see the best for other guys.”
When asked what Green needs to do to return to court, Dumars gave a candid answer.
“We just want him to go through the process of recovery,” Dumars said. “There's no concrete, 'Hey, you have to check this box and everything will be fine.' We want him to progress, come back and be the great player he has been for so long at Golden State. And we'll leave it at that. We're not going to make it and there's a box he has to check and as soon as he checks that he'll be back and everything will be fine. Take your time and get better.
“We will be ready when he is ready. I think it will work. I think this is the best path for him. I think the best thing we could have done is not put a number on it.”
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