Shams Charania has updated that Draymond Green is undergoing counseling sessions and will remain suspended for at least three to four weeks. This is another backbreaking news for the Warriors because Green is going to miss the remaining year and the early parts of January at least. During the Fanduel-powered ‘Run It Back‘ show, co-host Michelle Beadle sought an update from his colleague.
Advertisement
Charania reported, “Yeah, there’s an update. I am told Draymond Green has begun counseling. The Warriors people around Draymond Green, they see that there is a level of understanding and really grasping that there is a process that he is gonna go through and undergo to make sure that he is gonna under a full capacity.”
“He has been feeling bad about what transpired. And I’m told the expectation is that Green will remain sidelined via suspension for at least the next three to four weeks,” added Charania.
Then he explained that this process is going to cost the Warriors Forward at least 12 games. After he returns, the league expects him to not repeat his earlier violent incidents. There are going to be “regular check-ins” to make sure that the two-way Forward doesn’t violate the terms of his return.
The league suspended Green for the second time this season. In mid-November, he served a five-game suspension after he partially choked Rudy Gobert during the Jaden McDaniels-Klay Thompson tussle. Then on December 12, the 4x NBA champion swung his arm at Jusuf Nurkic in what was termed as a Flagrant Type 2 violation.
This incident has triggered an open-ended ban considering the history of offenses. The indefinite suspension adds to the misery of the Warriors who are below the 50% win record. However, there might be a silver lining here.
The Warriors get a hint of economic relief but is it worth it?
Just a few days ago, Bobby Marks, in his X Post, revealed that the Warriors are going to save $519,555 every game due to Green’s suspension. The 2017 DPOY has already served and missed eight total games at the writing, while the Warriors have dodged $4,156,440 in luxury taxes.
Adding 12 more games to the suspension, they can end up saving $10,391,100. Saving these $10 million is crucial because the team is going to pay $276 million in luxury taxes this season.
However, on-court, they are going to miss his tenacity, leadership, and offensive finesse. Not having him means that the Warriors are compromised on both ends of the floor. The Warriors are 12th in the West and have piled up 14 losses against 12 wins. The team is yet to find a working combination and not having Green creates line-up imbalances.
The slight cut in luxury tax is surely not worth the stress for their leading scorer Stephen Curry. This has had a tedious effect on the sharpshooter who has had to modify his pre-game routine.
As per Steve Kerr, Curry has been “emotionally spent” and in addition to carrying the team thus far, he is stressed out because of the issues surrounding Green. This is why even coach Kerr, who defends his defensive star at every turn, also advised him to transform his behavior. During a press conference, he lauded Green’s loyalty and admired his commitment to the team. But he also asked him to discipline the side that is now hurting the team.
“Because the one who grabbed Rudy [Gobert] and choked Rudy. The one who took a wild flail at Jusuf [Nurkic]. The one who punched Jordan[Poole] last year, that’s the guy who has to change,” recommended the Warriors HC.
It will be interesting to see how the defensive stalwart plays after he returns. His physically draining style and jibing at opponents is what drives a lot of his effort. But will he contain himself once he returns?
