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Suspended Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green is getting closer to rejoin the team, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
“Golden State’s Draymond Green — on an indefinite league suspension since Dec. 13 — is expected to return to the Warriors’ facility in the coming days to start ramping up to resume play again, sources tell ESPN,” Wojnarowski wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on January 4.
Green will miss his 11th game due to his indefinite suspension for striking Phoenix center Jusuf Nurkic in the face when the Warriors host the defending champion Denver Nuggets tonight at Chase Center.
Wojnarowski added that conversations are still ongoing on Green’s exact return date.
Following the Warriors’ 121-115 win over the Orlando Magic on Tuesday, January 2, coach Steve Kerr said Green has yet to show up in their practice facility despite being allowed while serving his suspension.
“We’ve been giving him his space, he’s been giving us ours,” Kerr said via NBA.com.
Warriors Are Winning Without Draymond Green
Without Green, the Warriors have posted a 6-4 record, including a five-game winning streak, over their last 10 games.
Kerr has relied on Jonathan Kuminga’s vastly improving rim attacking and Chris Paul’s playmaking to fill Green’s void in the starting lineup.
Warriors’ connectivity has suffered with Green in and out of the lineup due to early-season injury and his volatile behavior. But Kerr still values Green as the anchor of their defense and the team’s glue guy when he’s locked-in.
“What’s happened over the last year it has been disappointing and we are really counting on Draymond to make some strides with this stuff, and we’re confident that he will be able to and that he’ll be able to come back and play at a high level,” Kerr said on the 95.7 The Game on January 3.
“He’s in good spirits. We’ve been texting and he’s doing great. The league has to decide when they’re going to lift the suspension and I don’t know when that will be,” Kerr added.
Draymond Green’s Suspension to Last 11-13 Games
On Christmas Day, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported “there’s a general belief that his suspension will cover a range of 11 to 13 games — barring any setbacks.”
The Warriors are in the midst of a season-high seven-game homestand that will end on January 10 against the New Orleans Pelicans, which will mark the 14th game since Green’s suspension.
Wojnarowski added that Green is undergoing periodic virtual meetings with the NBA, NBPA and the Warriors to chart his progress aside from undergoing counseling.
“These Zoom meetings are playing a role in how the NBA, National Basketball Players Association and the Warriors measure Green’s progress toward working through whatever issues might have contributed to repeated violent episodes with opponents and a former teammate, sources said,” Wojnarowski wrote.
Klay Thompson Talks ‘Final Chapter’
Kerr talked Klay Thompson out of his shooting slump in a heart-to-heart talk on New Year’s Day.
“That helped me relax a lot,” Thompson said via NBC Sports Bay Area. “Sometimes I forget just how successful and how lucky I’ve been to be a part of the championship teams and All-Star games and gold medals. You want to get back to that level so badly, you can kind of get in your own way.”
“Rather than forcing it, we had a conversation about just enjoying this last chapter of my career and how lucky I truly am to still be playing this game and do it at a high level and be a better mentor for the young guys, lead by example. Have my energy right every game. He helped me realize if I do have negative energy how that affects the team in a poor manner.”
Thompson snapped out of his shooting slump as he scored 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting surpassing New York Knicks legend Richie Guerin (14,676) on the all-time scoring list.
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