Draymond Green, who is serving an indefinite suspension, is expected to rejoin the Warriors in the coming days for practices and team activities. The expectation is that he is preparing to return to play, according to ESPN.
Though the league granted Green permission to be with his teammates, Green has not participated in team activities since the NBA handed down the indefinite suspension on Dec. 13 for socking Phoenix Suns center Jusuf Nurkic in the face. Green will miss his 11th straight game when the Warriors face the Denver Nuggets on Thursday. The Warriors have a 6-4 record without him over a 10-game span.
Coach Steve Kerr said before Tuesday’s game that he and Green had been communicating through text messages, but he did not have a timeline for Green’s return.
“We’ve been giving him his space, he’s been giving us ours,” Kerr said.
The NBA’s opaque suspension guidelines for Green say he has to meet “certain league and team conditions” to return to play. Kerr, general manager Mike Dunleavy and Steph Curry have said they hope Green can use the suspension to sort through some issues connected to his most recent on-court outbursts, including his chokehold of Minnesota’s Rudy Gobert in November that earned him a separate five-game suspension.
It’s been reported that Green is having virtual meetings with NBA officials, Warriors officials and his agent, Rich Paul, to meet those guidelines.
“To me this is about more than basketball,” Kerr said after the suspension was handed down. “It’s about helping Draymond. I think it’s an opportunity for Draymond to step away and to make a change in his approach and his life.
“This is about someone who I believe in, someone who I have known for a decade, who I love for his loyalty, his commitment, his passion, his love for his teammates and family. Trying to help that guy because the one who choked Rudy, the one who flailed at Jusuf, who punched Jordan (Poole) last year. That’s the guy who has to change. Everything before that, what are we really talking about? Throwing a ball, yelling at a ref. It’s clear he needs the opportunity to change and that’s what an indefinite suspension gives him the opportunity for.”
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Though they’ve scraped by, the Warriors could use Green’s voice and presence to close the gaps on the team’s porous defense. Lack of communication on switches and in transition defense has been a consistent issue through the wins and losses alike.
The Warriors have a razor thin margin for error and made it a point of emphasis to strengthen the off- and on-court chemistry this year, but that’s been tarnished, so far, with Green playing in 15 of the Warriors’ 33 games. Chris Paul pointed out that the Warriors can get a competitive edge by emphasizing defense within a league trending toward high-scoring offenses. That’s difficult to accomplish without their defensive rock.
“We have to get back to playing for each other,” Gary Payton II said on Monday. “I’m pretty sure you can see it on the court, it’s just a disconnect that we have, especially on defense. And I think our offense is predicated on our defense, and it should be the other way around.”
