Draymond begins counseling, at least three weeks away

Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green has begun counseling and is expected to remain sidelined for at least the next three weeks due to suspension, league sources said.

The NBA announced an indefinite suspension for Green on Wednesday for punching Phoenix Suns center Jusuf Nurkić in the face during a game the night before. Joe Dumars, the NBA’s executive vice president and chief basketball operations officer, said in a statement that Green’s “repeated history of unsportsmanlike conduct” was a factor in the decision.

League sources said Green, 33, was expected to receive counseling and work with the Warriors and the NBA while suspended. People around Green and the organization said the four-time NBA champion has shown understanding and willingness to undergo the process necessary to return to the team at full capacity. These sources declined to reveal the details of Green’s guidance out of respect for his privacy.

A three-week term would mean his suspension would be approximately twelve games.

Green’s latest incident – ​​his 20th ejection of his career – came in the third quarter of Tuesday’s game between the Warriors and Suns. Green appeared to struggle for post positioning against Nurkić near the corner, turned and nailed Nurkić in the face with a wild right arm. Nurkić fell and stayed down for about a minute.

Officials stopped the game for a review, which didn’t take long. Green was ejected and didn’t even contest it. He immediately ran to the locker room.

After the match, Green apologized to Nurkić. He said it was unintentional and that he was trying to sell a foul by waving his arms.

“As you know, I am not one to apologize for the things I intended to do, but I do apologize to Jusuf. Because I didn’t mean to hit him,” Green said. “I sell phone calls with my arms.”

Green’s suspension is the sixth of his NBA career and his second this season. The league also suspended Green for five games in November for his involvement in an altercation against the Minnesota Timberwolves when Green deadlocked Rudy Gobert. Last season, he served two separate one-game suspensions: once for 16 technical fouls, and a second time in the playoffs for stepping on Sacramento Kings power forward Domantas Sabonis.

Warriors coach Steve Kerr said he thought an indefinite suspension for Green made sense to help the 12th-year veteran make a change.

“For me, this is about more than basketball. It’s about helping Draymond,” Kerr said. “I think this is an opportunity for Draymond to take a step back and make a change in his approach and his life, and that’s not easy. That’s not something where you say, ‘Okay, five games and he’ll be fine.'”

The Warriors (12-14) are 2-1 since Green’s exclusion. During his previous five-match suspension, the score was 2-3.

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(Photo: Meg Oliphant/Getty Images)