The Golden State Warriors suspended All-Star forward Draymond Green without pay for the team’s Tuesday night game against the Atlanta Hawks following heated exchanges between Green and teammate Kevin Durant during the Warriors’ Monday loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Warriors said in a statement that the suspension was doled out for conduct detrimental to the team, with sources telling ESPN that the argument between the two stars spilled over into the locker room after the game.
Durant, Green Exchange Words Before OT
The confrontation began after the final play of regulation. With the game tied, Green grabbed a defensive rebound and then took the ball up the court himself, rather than passing to Durant. Green would fail to get a shot off, sending the game to overtime.
Tensions ran high between KD and Draymond after going into OT with the Clippers. pic.twitter.com/J1EX86uNSz
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) November 13, 2018
During the break after the end of the fourth quarter, cameras caught Durant and Green yelling at each other on the sidelines. The Clippers would go on to defeat the Warriors 121-116.
Yahoo Sports reported that Green used an expletive towards Durant during the argument, while The Athletic reported that Green brought up Durant’s contract situation, which allows him to become a free agent after this season.
After considering the situation, the Golden State front office decided that this went beyond a normal disagreement between teammates, and that discipline was necessary. The one-game suspension will cost Green $120,480.
“We just felt like this rose to the level of acting the way that we did,” Warriors general manager Bob Myers told reporters at a news conference before Tuesday’s game. “That’s a decision that we have to make. I’m certainly involved in it, so is [head coach Steve Kerr].”
Warriors Ready to Move On
Green has long been one of the leaders of the Warriors locker room, and while there have been occasional outbursts in the past, they haven’t proven to be a long-term problem. After Tuesday’s game, Durant suggested that he and his teammates would get over this latest incident as well.
“I’m gonna keep that in-house,” Durant said after the game. “That’s what we do here. I mean, obviously I know you guys got a job to do, but I’m not trying to give nobody no headlines. What happened, happened. We’re trying to move on – just trying to play basketball.”
Kerr agreed, saying that he didn’t want to change who Green is or how he plays the game.
“Draymond is a powerful force,” Kerr told reporters. “You guys know that. He’s a huge reason why we’ve had so much success here, and Draymond is going to continue playing the way he plays, and I don’t see him operating any other way.”
Without Green in the lineup, the Warriors still defeated the Hawks 110-103 on Tuesday night. Jonas Jerebko picked up most of Green’s minutes, scoring 14 points and grabbing 13 rebounds.
Regardless of any internal turmoil, Golden State once again looks to be the class of the NBA. The two-time defending champions have a 12-3 record, with only the Toronto Raptors getting off to a faster start at 12-2. According to Paddy Power, the Warriors are an 8/13 favorite to win yet another NBA championship this year.
