Draymond Green was reinstated by the NBA on Sunday, rejoining the Warriors team after what became a 12-game suspension following his latest incident in which he swung around wildly and hit Jusuf Nurkic in the face.
It was the second suspension Green was given for crossing the line on the court, having served a 5-game suspension for choking out Rudy Gobert during an altercation earlier in the season. After that punishment, Green was defiant, angry that the league was punishing him for past actions and felt they were not being fair to him. However, his tone was considerably different after hitting Nurkic, as he agreed to seek some professional help for his anger issues and impulse control on the floor as part of the agreement for his indefinite suspension.
On Monday, Green brought back his podcast with Volume Sports and in his first episode back he detailed the conversations he had with the league and how Adam Silver talked him out of retiring.
“I told him ‘I’m going to retire’”
—@Money23Green opens up about his conversation with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver after the Jusuf Nurkić incident pic.twitter.com/kgJrnJzBS7
— The Volume (@TheVolumeSports) January 8, 2024
“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.’ We had a long, great conversation — very helpful to me. 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.”
In the immediate aftermath there were a few small rumblings that Green might call it a career, but those went away pretty quickly and it seems that’s because there was some consideration of that in the moment by Draymond but he was quickly talked out of it. It would have been a pretty sad way for Green’s career to come to an end, and hopefully he can write a much better final chapter of his career than getting constantly suspended for crossing the line on the court. The Warriors certainly need his presence and need him at his best, and the next month will likely determine how they proceed with Green back in the fold, as they need to assess what changes must be made at the deadline to try and maximize this roster.