Draymond Green will return to the Golden State Warriors this week. Steve Kerr announced on Tuesday night in the aftermath of the team’s 131-98 preseason win over the Portland Trail Blazers that Green, who left the team by his own volition last week after an incident in practice where he punched teammate Jordan Poole, will not face any further suspension from the Warriors, although he has been fined.
As a result, Kerr says, the plan is for Green to take the floor in the team’s final preseason game and be available when the regular season begins next week.
Steve Kerr announces that Draymond Green has been fined for his altercation with Jordan Poole and will return to practice on Thursday pic.twitter.com/CYmePfNlTE
— NBA TV (@NBATV) October 12, 2022
“He is going to come back to practice on Thursday,” Kerr said. “He’s been fined, he will not be suspended. I expect him to play Friday in our last preseason game and on opening night. We have spent the last week in deep discussions with all of our key figures in the organization, including Jordan and Draymond, of course. Steph, all of our players, Bob, myself, and I can tell you there have been a lot of conversations — individual, 1-on-1 discussions, players-only discussions. Everything that you can think of, all the different combinations that are possible to have in a conversation, we’ve had them. It’s been an exhaustive process.
Kerr believes that the team’s continuity has led to “a great feel for our team,” and that after taking a look at the situation from all angles, this is best way to handle the situation.
“Never easy, no matter what decision you make in a situation like this, it’s not gonna be perfect,” Kerr said. “This is the biggest crisis that we’ve ever had since I’ve been coach here.”
Kerr went on to say that Green and Poole have discussed the incident with one another.