The NBA’s decision to suspend Draymond Green indefinitely for his most recent act of on-court violence has earned responses from all across the league, including from Green’s long-time rival Rudy Gobert.
Green and Gobert have a choppy history on and off the court stretching back years, including a five-game suspension levied by the NBA against Green for putting Gobert in a chokehold during a game between the Golden State Warriors and Minnesota Timberwolves earlier this season.
Ahead of a contest against the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday night, December 14, ESPN’s Tim McMahon asked Gobert for his reaction to the league’s choice to shelve Green for an undetermined amount of time after he threw a punch at Phoenix Suns big man Jusuf Nurkic two days prior.
McMahon relayed Gobert’s response during the “Brian Windhorst and The Hoop Collective” podcast edition that aired on Friday.
“I have empathy for him,” Gobert said. “You see somebody who’s not well inside and suffering. You take away the game and all that, and you want somebody to be well and be able to do what we do every night and compete and be happy.”
McMahon followed up with a question about whether an indefinite suspension was a fair punishment for Green.
“I’m not sure what that really means, so it’s hard to tell,” Gobert said. “I mean, you don’t want someone to get badly hurt. You’ve got to fix that.”
Rudy Gobert Sang Different Tune After Draymond Green Put Him in Headlock in November
Getty Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors defends Rudy Gobert of the Minnesota Timberwolves during an NBA game.
Gobert’s empathy for Green, which McMahon conveyed as sincere, is something of a surprise considering the rhetoric the Timberwolves center had for Green following their incident in Minneapolis on November 14.
“Every time Steph [Curry] doesn’t play, [Green] doesn’t want to play without his guy Steph, so he does anything he can to get ejected,” Gobert said, per John Krawczynski of The Athletic.
Gobert went on to characterize Green’s actions as “clown behavior” multiple times.
“Clown behavior, and I’m proud of myself for being the bigger man again and again,” Gobert said. “And yeah, doesn’t even deserve me putting my hands on him. My team needed me tonight. I did whatever I could to keep my cool and then show that I wasn’t making the situation worse, and I do hope that the league is going to do what needs to be done because that’s just clown behavior.”
Steve Kerr Supports NBA’s Indefinite Suspension of Draymond Green
GettyDraymond Green (left) and Steve Kerr (right) of the Golden State Warriors.
McMahon’s podcast partner Tim Bontemps of ESPN on Friday accused the Warriors organization of making excuses for Green’s behavior time and again, which he contended has led to Green becoming uncontrollable on the court.
Dubs head coach Steve Kerr has caught the brunt of the national criticism in recent days for failing to control Green. However, Kerr’s rhetoric has also been different than it often was in the past, ever since the NBA handed down the indefinite suspension to Green.
“I think the suspension makes sense,” Kerr said Thursday, per CNN. “To me, this is about more than basketball. It’s about helping Draymond. I think it’s an opportunity for Draymond to step away and to make a change in his approach, in his life. That’s not an easy thing to do.”
Winning without Green won’t be an easy thing for Golden State to do for however long the four-time champion and defensive specialist remains out. The Warriors (10-14) have lost three consecutive games and currently occupy the No. 11 position in the Western Conference.
The Dubs host the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday night in their 25th regular-season game of the year.
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Rudy Gobert Makes Eyebrow-Raising Comments on Draymond Green’s Suspension