Golden State Warriors power forward Draymond Green was reinstated from his indefinite suspension on Saturday after 22 days and 12 games. The four-time All-Star didn’t return to the court in the team’s loss against the Toronto Raptors on Sunday and revealed recently that he nearly made a drastic decision during his suspension.
“I told him, ‘Adam this is too much for me. … This is too much. It’s all becoming too much for me — and I’m going to retire,'” Green said. “And Adam said, ‘You’re making a very rash decision and I won’t let you do that.'”
The 33-year-old continued, saying that he and NBA commissioner Adam Silver had a “long, great conversation” that was “very helpful” to him.
“Very thankful to play in a league with a commissioner like Adam who’s more about helping you than hurting you; helping you than punishing you. He’s more about the players,” Green said.
Despite what many basketball fans may think of Green, it’s refreshing to hear that Silver seems to have players’ backs. The Michigan State product isn’t the All-Star player he once was, but it would’ve been a shame to see his career end after the suspension stemming from his punch of Phoenix Suns center Jusif Nurkic in December.
The encounter with Nurkic was Green’s second violent incident this season that resulted in a suspension, after he was docked five games for grabbing Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert and putting him in a chokehold during a game in November.
Following his month of counseling (with sessions expected to continue), the former Defensive Player of the Year is back with the Dubs and should be returning to game action soon. Green’s averaged 9.7 points, 5.8 assists and 5.5 rebounds across 15 contests this season.
The Warriors started off hot with Green away from the team, winning five of their first six games but have dropped five of their last seven since then. Golden State is in 11th place in the Western Conference at 17-19, leaving them just outside of the current playoff picture as the regular season nears its halfway point.
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