{"id":95668,"date":"2022-10-13T08:03:09","date_gmt":"2022-10-13T08:03:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/draymond-greens-real-penalty-from-warriors-will-be-paid-in-time\/"},"modified":"2022-10-13T08:03:09","modified_gmt":"2022-10-13T08:03:09","slug":"draymond-greens-real-penalty-from-warriors-will-be-paid-in-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/draymond-greens-real-penalty-from-warriors-will-be-paid-in-time\/","title":{"rendered":"Draymond Green’s real penalty from Warriors will be paid in time"},"content":{"rendered":"

In less than a week, the Golden State Warriors will stagger into their ring ceremony no longer as joyous, invincible champions but as a team in crisis.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the biggest crisis that we’ve ever had since I’ve been coach here,\u201d head coach Steve Kerr said Tuesday.\n<\/p>\n

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And though most of this catastrophe stems from Draymond Green’s vicious punch of his younger, smaller teammate, Jordan Poole, the crisis is also the result of the fallout from that violent act, including how the Warriors have responded.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cAny criticism that we face here is fair,\u201d Kerr said.<\/p>\n

And, oh, they are facing criticism.<\/p>\n

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\n <\/p>\n

Green will not be suspended; he instead took a weeklong timeout from the team. He will be found; the amount will be kept secret. Whether Green is undergoing any sort of mandatory counseling is unclear; he did not answer that question when he spoke Saturday. Green will be with the team on opening night.\n<\/p>\n

So, a week’s vacation, an unspecified fine for a player who has made about $132 million in his career, and a big hug from Commissioner Adam Silver on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur team isn’t perfect,\u201d Kerr said, adding he and general manager Bob Myers \u201chave definitely made our share of mistakes over the years. But we’re going to lean on the experience that we have together over the last nine years and trust that this is the best decision for our team.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

I’m not here to tell the Warriors what punishment is appropriate, but they’ve told me themselves. They suspended Green a game in 2018 for his verbal altercation with Kevin Durant. They suspended Jordan Bell for a game in 2019 for charging a scented candle to assistant coach Mike Brown’s hotel bill. For a situation as serious as this, precedent in the NBA has informed me what might be expected. In 2017, Chicago’s Bobby Portis was suspended eight games for punching teammate Nikola Mirotic in the face. In 2019, Miami’s Dion Waiters was suspended six games for partying rather than coming to practice.\n<\/p>\n

Suspensions are allowed, even expected, for gross transgressions. Green is no longer a hotheaded youngster who doesn’t know how the NBA works. He’s a grown man, a father, a husband, a self-avowed team leader and role model. He should be able to handle a suspension gracefully. But clearly the Warriors are concerned that, even at age 32, Green is so fragile that a suspension could blow up their relationship to the point of no return.<\/p>\n

The Warriors usually walk on eggshells around Green, but it comes with a price this time. Green’s actions and the subsequent slap on the wrist have damaged the credibility of a team that has been mostly beyond reproach.<\/p>\n

The leaked video means no one can spin what happened, even though Green tried in his apology \u2014 slipping in concern that the video was edited, and that he was having a bad day. Even though his mother tried to spin the events on Twitter before deleting her account, offering possible insight into his camp’s thought process. Even though Kerr first said he’s seen plenty of fights in his 32 years, then reversed course and said he told the younger players this was \u201cnot normal,\u201d and former NBA players like Tom Tolbert said they’ve never seen a hit like that.\n<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Kerr was furious over the leaked video, which might have been easier than being furious at Green directly. I do n’t know how the video got out, but the Warriors must consider the possibility that someone on staff was sick of Green being forgiven for his transgressions, and after hearing the \u201caltercation\u201d downplayed in news conferences, wanted it revealed.\n<\/p>\n

Loyal fans have questions. The pride of having a player \u201ceveryone hates but would love to have on their team\u201d has been dampened. Warriors fans aren’t sure they want Green on their team. They’re confused why the team they love would go light on a player, even when it hurts the Warriors’ image. Of how a culture of joy can coexist with an unpunished assault.<\/p>\n

The Warriors are trying to walk a tightrope. They know they are unlikely to content for a championship
\n this season<\/em>
\n without Green \u2014 they don’t have an adequate replacement \u2014 and they don’t want to rob their team of that opportunity by alienating his brittle ego. But they can’t lose the trust of the rest of their team, particularly the young players who are the franchise’s future.\n<\/p>\n