Adrian Wojnarowski, Senior NBA Insider January 8, 2024, 10:25 a.m. ET
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- Host of The Woj Pod
- Joined ESPN in 2017
In an emotional conversation surrounding his indefinite league suspension, Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green suggested NBA Commissioner Adam Silver should talk him out of retirement, according to a new episode of “The Draymond Green Show.”
In a clip from the podcast on Volume Sports shared with ESPN on Monday morning, Green says after punching Phoenix center Jusuf Nurkic in the face on Dec. 12 that he had an exchange with Silver that included over His immediate desire was to leave the NBA.
“I told him, ‘Adam, this is too much for me. … This is too much. It's all getting too much for me – and I'm going to retire,'” Green said. “And Adam said, 'You're making a very rash decision and I'm not going to let that happen.'
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“We had a long, great conversation – very helpful for me. I'm very grateful to play in a league with a commissioner like Adam who cares more about helping you than hurting you; to help you instead of punishing you. He cares more about the players.”
Green is close to returning from a suspension that has now reached 14 games. The Nurkic incident was his second violent act that resulted in a league suspension in a month. Green was suspended five games for grabbing Minnesota's Rudy Gobert and dragging him across the field in a chokehold on Nov. 14.
After undergoing a month of counseling, Green was reinstated by the NBA on Saturday and he began working with the Warriors on Sunday for a return that sources said is expected to occur in about a week. These consultations are expected to continue after he begins playing again.
Green will return to a reeling Warriors team that is 17-19 and 11th in the Western Conference.
He averaged 9.7 points, 5.5 rebounds and 5.8 assists in 15 games this season. In the first season of a four-year, $100 million contract, he will forfeit $153,941 for each game he is suspended for.