The NBA has opted to suspend Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green indefinitely following a physical altercation with Jusuf Nurkic of the Phoenix Suns, the league announced Wednesday.
The league announced the penalty handed down by operations chief Joe Dumars and said the suspension begins immediately. It's already Green's second suspension this season.
“He will be required to meet certain league and team conditions before he returns to play,” the league said.
The NBA noted that “this outcome takes into account Green’s repeated history of unsportsmanlike acts.”
Green was ejected for the 18th time in his career, most among active NBA players.
Green and Nurkic were battling for position early in the third when the two got tangled. The Golden State forward appeared to slightly lose his balance, but then inexplicably wheeled around and smacked Nurkic in the face.
Nurkic immediately crumpled to the ground but eventually got up and stayed in the game. The referees reviewed the play before calling Green for a Flagrant 2 foul, which causes an automatic ejection.
“That had nothing to do with basketball,” Nurkic said. “I’m just out there trying to play basketball.”
It’s been less than a month since Green was suspended five games by the NBA for putting Minnesota’s Rudy Gobert into a headlock during an altercation in November.
ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reports that 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 Green to move forward.
Wojnarowski also adds that the NBA did not specify a length of suspension to give Green time to deal with the challenges he is facing.
This is the sixth suspension of Green's career. The Warriors also had Green spend time away from the team and fined him for punching teammate Jordan Poole in practice last season.
There is little precedent for an indefinite suspension. In 2010, then-Commissioner David Stern suspended Washington guard Gilbert Arenas indefinitely for bringing firearms into the team locker room. That was a precursor to what became a 50-game suspension for Arenas, after Stern said “his ongoing conduct ... led me to conclude that he is not currently fit to take the court in an NBA game.”
--With files from the Associated Press.
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