Tom Izzo comments on Draymond Green punching incident
Golden State Warriors (10-14) power forward Draymond Green will be out of action for the foreseeable future after the NBA indefinitely suspended him Wednesday for punching Phoenix Suns (13-11) center Jusuf Nurkic in the face during Tuesday’s game at Footprint Center.
Green, 33, received a flagrant 2 foul for hitting Nurkic and was subsequently ejected for the third time this season. Michigan State head basketball coach Tom Izzo, who coached Green for four seasons (2008-12), said Thursday he was disappointed to hear that Green had been involved in another physical altercation on the basketball court.
“The worst part is last week I had a 30-minute talk with Draymond,” Izzo said, via Madeline Kenney of The Detroit News. “But he was great. He’s shooting like 40-something percent from three, he’s shooting the ball better. DG said he looks great, great shape. Everything was heading in the right direction. I don’t know what happened, I’m gonna find out.
“He’s 33 years old. He’s gonna be his own man. But I still have deep love for him, and I still care about him and yeah, sometimes I worry … Coaches got to change with the times, players got to change with the times. I can’t say I know what happened, I didn’t see it, I just heard about it and disappointed for him.”
Per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, Green, Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. and Green’s agent, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, are expected to meet Thursday to start discussing a path of counseling and help for Green to move forward.
NBA gives significant punishment to Draymond Green after latest on-court incident
Green served a five-game suspension earlier this season for putting Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert in a headlock on Nov. 14. The league cited Green’s history as a repeat offender for the length of the suspension. He was ejected from a game against the Cleveland Cavaliers three days earlier after picking up two technical fouls.
His latest ejection came with 8:23 remaining in the third quarter, when Green turned and struck Nurkic in the face with his right hand. Officials deemed the foul a flagrant 2 after video review. Speaking with the media after the game, Green apologized to Nurkic, saying he didn’t mean to hit him.
“I am not one to apologize for things I mean to do, but I do apologize to Jusuf because I didn’t intend to hit him,” Green said, via Kendra Andrews of ESPN. “I sell calls with my arms … so I was selling the call … and I swung and unfortunately I hit him.”
Green, in his 12th season with the Warriors, has appeared in 15 games this season. He has posted averages of 9.7 points, 5.8 assists and 5.5 rebounds per game on 49% from the field. Green faces a fine of $153,941 per game if his suspension lasts less than 20 games, per Bobby Marks of ESPN. If his suspension goes over 20 games, he will face a fine of $202,922 per game.