Getty/Ezra Shaw Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors argues with the referee during the 2019 NBA Finals against the Toronto Raptors at Oracle Arena in San Francisco.
The Golden State Warriors lost 110-108 against the San Antonio Spurs on March 20 at Chase Center. Floor general Draymond Green was back on the floor for his second game, and to no surprise, the team also got his outspoken tendencies on the court as well.
With 6:50 left in the third quarter, Green fouled Spurs’ Devin Vassell and was not happy about it. He was given one technical for arguing with the referee about it. Soon after, he was tossed after he continued to vocally express his displeasure with referee Marat Kogut.
Could you spot the three words that sparked Green’s ejection? It was pretty loud at the 20 second mark of the clip.
Kogut was tired of Green berating him and said “come on, you made your point.”
Green then loudly replied with “No, that’s terrible.”
The mics picked up much of the interaction between Green and Kogut. It seems like Green was adamant at making it a point to get the official to admit he made a bad call, and when Kogut told him to stop, Green continued to criticize him.
The Saginaw native does usually get a longer leash in terms of technical fouls, but it seemed like he did not get a benefit of doubt with Kogut. After the game, Kerr had these exact thoughts when talking after the game.
“He wasn’t swearing, he wasn’t getting personal,” Kerr tells the media. “Marat [Kogut] felt like Draymond didn’t stop complaining but Draymond has never stopped complaining his whole career. We know that. He’s earned what he’s done in this league. Draymond knows how to walk that line. Once he gets that first one, he understands what it takes to get a second one.”
Jordan Poole Has Funny Post-Conference Moment in Regards to Green’s Ejection
Jordan Poole has been a meme sensation as more people have paid attention to his rise on the floor. Known for his short-worded replies during his post-game press conferences, Poole does seem to have a knack to troll pretty hard. He even set up a timer a couple weeks ago to make sure he did not stay too long talking with the press.
When asked if he knew why Green was ejected, he paused for a several seconds and then gave a response that was not too helpful for reporters, something he tends to do quite a bit.
“No, I don’t know what happened, to be honest,” Poole says with a smirk.
“Did you understand why Draymond got ejected?”
Poole’s reaction 😂
Green Fined $25,000 for Swearing Amidst Ejection
On March 22, the NBA issued a statement from Byron Spruell, President of League Operations that Green was getting fined $25,000 for “directing profane language towards a game official [Kogut].”
Clearly, the NBA doubled down and defended their official with the prompt ejection and the fine afterwards. Green makes about $24 million this season, so it probably won’t affect too much of his checkbook.
Green currently sits at 11 technical fouls for the season. The magic number is 16 before a suspension kick in so he still has a bit of wiggle room, especially with only a handful of regular season games left in the season.