Current:Home > NewsEnough is enough. NBA should suspend Draymond Green for rest of November after chokehold-LoTradeCoin
Enough is enough. NBA should suspend Draymond Green for rest of November after chokehold
View Date:2024-12-24 08:08:05
Draymond Green’s antics already bordered on WWE theatrics – the way he trash talks with opponents and riles the opposing crowd into more jeers for him.
Draymond Green, the perfect heel, the ultimate Warrior.
It was only a matter of time, it seemed, before he crossed from Royal Rumble to UFC.
That happened Tuesday when an altercation that started between Golden State’s Klay Thompson and Minnesota’s Jaden McDaniels roped in the Timberwolves’ Rudy Gobert and Green who put Gobert in a chokehold and dragged him away.
In a pool report following the game, which Minnesota won 104-101, NBA referee Tyler Ford called Green’s actions on Gobert a headlock. He could’ve easily called it a chokehold.
A suspension is coming for Green. Even in an altercation, Green’s conduct has no place in the league. The only question: how long is the suspension? One game? Three games? Five games? Ten games?
That’s up to NBA executive vice president and head of basketball operations Joe Dumars who oversees league discipline. Last spring in the playoffs, the NBA suspended Green for one game against Sacramento for “stepping on the chest” of Kings center Domantas Sabonis.
The league has walked a tightrope with Green, recognizing the fire with which he plays and the unsportsmanlike activities he has committed.
In announcing Green’s punishment for a playoff game in April, the league noted, “The suspension was based in part on Green’s history of unsportsmanlike acts.”
In a follow-up conversation with USA TODAY Sports, Dumars said, ““It was a dangerous and unnecessary act. The second thing was conduct detrimental (to the league). And the third thing was repeat offender. And that's how we got to a suspension. It was a totality of all of those three things.”
Green checks all three boxes in his latest nonsense. Dangerous and unnecessary. Conduct detrimental to the league. Repeat offender.
That calls for a multi-game suspension. A stronger message is required. It needs pain and discomfort for Green and the Warriors who are struggling at 6-6 with four consecutive losses and without Steph Curry (sidelined with an injury) in a Western Conference that is better and deeper this season than it was last season.
The Warriors thrive on Green’s presence though it’s worth noting the Warriors have been better defensively with Green off the court than on. They are minus-18 with Green on the court and plus-44 with him on the bench in his nine games this season, according to nba.com/stats.
The league will take into account Green’s history, and it also should take into account his dislike of Gobert. Not all players get along but the Gobert-Green feud has played out over social media. The dislike was prominent when Green made fun of Gobert for crying over a 2019 All-Star snub.
It continued when Gobert posted on X “Insecurity is always loud,” after video of Green punching then-teammate Jordan Poole was leaked. When Gobert got into it with teammate Kyle Anderson last season, Green posted on X, “Insecurity is always loud.”
During an in-game interview with Green at the 2022 All-Star Game, the TNT NBA crew mentioned Green’s name with Gobert’s name. Green interrupted and said, “You keep mentioning me in the same sentence as him, we’re not alike.”
In a chance to go straight for Gobert, Green did. The dislike became too personal.
A three-game suspension should be the minimum. Five games might be the sweet spot that pacifies several sides, but a two-week suspension through the rest of November that covers seven Warriors games is the message Dumars and the league need to deliver.
Follow NBA columnist Jeff Zillgitt on X @JeffZillgitt
veryGood! (9232)
Related
- UConn, Kansas State among five women's college basketball games to watch this weekend
- Alyson Stoner Says They Were Fired from Children’s Show After Coming Out as Queer
- A surprise-billing law loophole? Her pregnancy led to a six-figure hospital bill
- She left her 2007 iPhone in its box for over a decade. It just sold for $63K
- Mike Williams Instagram post: Steelers' WR shades Aaron Rodgers 'red line' comments
- Janet Yellen visits Ukraine and pledges even more U.S. economic aid
- Homes evacuated after train derailment north of Philadelphia
- Inside Clean Energy: Four Things Biden Can Do for Clean Energy Without Congress
- Judge moves to slash $38 million verdict in New Hampshire youth center abuse case
- Transcript: Kara Swisher, Pivot co-host, on Face the Nation, July 16, 2023
Ranking
- Missouri prosecutor says he won’t charge Nelly after an August drug arrest
- Dutch Court Gives Shell Nine Years to Cut Its Carbon Emissions by 45 Percent from 2019 Levels
- Inside Clean Energy: Des Moines Just Set a New Bar for City Clean Energy Goals
- Who is Fran Drescher? What to know about the SAG-AFTRA president and sitcom star
- 'Devastation is absolutely heartbreaking' from Southern California wildfire
- In a New Policy Statement, the Nation’s Physicists Toughen Their Stance on Climate Change, Stressing Its Reality and Urgency
- No ideological splits, only worried justices as High Court hears Google case
- The 26 Words That Made The Internet What It Is (Encore)
Recommendation
-
Video shows Starlink satellite that resembled fireball breaking up over the Southwest: Watch
-
How venture capital built Silicon Valley
-
You'd Never Guess This Chic & Affordable Summer Dress Was From Amazon— Here's Why 2,800+ Shoppers Love It
-
Death Valley, hottest place on Earth, hits near-record high as blistering heat wave continues
-
Democrat Cleo Fields wins re-drawn Louisiana congressional district, flipping red seat blue
-
How the cats of Dixfield, Maine came into a fortune — and almost lost it
-
North Dakota, Using Taxpayer Funds, Bailed Out Oil and Gas Companies by Plugging Abandoned Wells
-
OceanGate Believes All 5 People On Board Missing Titanic Sub Have Sadly Died