Sources – Draymond Green using virtual meetings to chart return،
Beyond individual counseling sessions, suspended Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green is participating in periodic virtual meetings designed to track his progress toward reinstatement and including team, league and union officials, sources told ESPN.
Those Zoom meetings play a role in how the NBA, National Basketball Players Association and the Warriors measure Green's progress in resolving issues that may have contributed to repeated bouts of violence with opponents and a former teammate, they said. sources. Green – a four-time champion and two-time All-NBA player – was described as open and engaged following the indefinite suspension imposed by the league on December 13.
Green's agent, Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul, Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr., team coach Rick Celebrini, NBPA and NBA officials are among those ongoing sessions , sources said.
The meetings are part of what the NBA described as “certain league and team conditions” that Green must meet before his suspension is lifted for throwing a punch at Phoenix's Jusuf Nurkic on Dec. 12. The NBA, NBPA, the Warriors and Green played roles in arranging this unique and indefinite suspension, but the NBA has the final say on whether Green returns. The league proposed the idea after back-to-back violent clashes in November against Minnesota's Rudy Gobert and Nurkic.
Green is cleared to practice and practice with the Warriors, but is unlikely to return to the team facility regularly until early January, sources said. Among those involved in this process, there is a general belief that his suspension will cover a period of 11 to 13 games – barring setbacks.
The Warriors will play their seventh straight game without Green against the Denver Nuggets on Monday – a streak that includes five straight wins.
In the first season of a four-year contract worth $100 million, Green loses $153,941 for each game suspended. After the first five games of the suspension, Green became eligible to be moved to the suspended list, allowing the Warriors to sign a replacement player. So far, the team has shown no desire to do so.
Green, 33, has been ejected three times this season, including against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Nov. 11 for two technical fouls. The NBA has suspended Green six times during his career, and the Warriors exiled Green during the preseason a year ago after he connected on a punch with former teammate Jordan Poole.
Alongside Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, Green has been a key player in the Warriors' dynasty. He was an All-NBA player in 2016 and 2017 and Defensive Player of the Year in 2017.
