Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr agreed with the punishment the NBA handed Draymond Green on Wednesday for striking Phoenix Suns center Jusuf Nurkic in the head.
Kerr discussed the punishment for the first time before Thursday night’s game against the Los Angeles Clippers.
Green had been handed an indefinite suspension for the incident earlier in the week with the league taking into account the Warriors forward’s prior offenses.
Kerr told reporters that the “suspension makes sense.”
“To me this is about more than basketball, it’s about helping Draymond,” Kerr said. “I think it’s an opportunity for Draymond to step away and make a change in his approach, in his life, and that’s not an easy thing to do. That’s not something you say ‘OK, we’ll do five games’ and then he’s gonna be fine. The league did five games after the incident with Rudy [Gobert}. That’s not the answer, to pick a number.
“The answer is to help Draymond, give him the help he needs. Give him the opportunity to make a change that will not only help him, help our team, but help him for the rest of his life. This is not just about an outburst on the court. This is about 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 committment, his passion, his love for his teammates, his friends, his family. Trying to help that guy.”
Tuesday’s instance with Nurkic was just the latest in a concerning trend for Green, who had put Rudy Gobert in a headlock during a hockey-style brawl during a November game against the Timberwolves.
Green will now need to “meet certain league and team conditions before he returns to play,” the league said on Wednesday when they announced the suspension.
Part of that appears to be for Green to go through counseling while he’s away from the court.
“The one who grabbed Rudy and choked Rudy, the one who took a wild flail at Jusuf, the one who punched Jordan last year, that’s the guy who has to change. He knows that,” Kerr said about Green.
“Everything before that, over a decade of play, what are we really talking about? We’re talking about getting ejected for yelling at the ref or throwing a ball. But look at the past year and what’s happened. He needs the opportunity to change, and that’s what an indefinite suspension gives him the opportunity for.”
The Warriors appear committed to helping Green through his issues and general Manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. told reporters that the organization was committed to working with the forward through this.