Draymond Green was ejected from the Golden State Warriors' 119-116 loss against the Phoenix Suns after being called for a flagrant foul two, striking Jusuf Nurkic on the head as the two jockeyed for post positioning near the paint.
Green, now facing his third suspension of the season, apologized for how the play unfolded, claiming it wasn't intentional to strike Nurkic. The explanation from the Warriors star was an attempt to sell the call, making it an accident.
"I am not one to apologize for things I mean to do, but I do apologize to Jusuf because I didn't intend to hit him," Green said via ESPN. "I sell calls with my arms ... so I was selling the call ... and I swung and unfortunately I hit him."
BREAKING: Draymond Green has been ejected pic.twitter.com/ZRphQekEPX
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) December 13, 2023
Green has a lengthy history of making dangerous plays that put him in a position to be suspended by the NBA. His chokehold on Rudy Gobert was deemed "unsportsmanlike and dangerous," resulting in his fifth time getting suspended in his 12-year NBA career. He claimed he would not apologize if it was intended to hit Nurkic.
"Like I said, if I intended to do that, then I would feel awful about not being there," Green said. "But my intentions were just to sell the foul.
"You guys have known me long enough, if I intended to do something, I am not apologizing. But I did make contact with him, so I do apologize. ... It's a hard hit."
The Warriors have spent much of their season finding ways to execute without Green. He has already missed 11 of their 23 games before being suspended again, excluding partial games that involve ejections.
"We need him. We need Draymond. He knows that," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. "We've talked to him. He's got to find a way to keep his poise and be out there for his teammates."
Nurkic's reaction to Green's play involved him stating, "the brother needs help," while exclaiming he's glad he at least didn't get choked.
"What's going on with him, I don't know," Nurkic said of Green. "Personally, I feel like that brother needs help. I'm glad he didn't try to choke me."
The Warriors now have just a 10-13 record through 23 games played, positioning themselves 2.5 games out of the final play-in spot in the Western Conference. Golden State must figure out how to bounce back soon before it becomes too deep of a hole in the standings to overcome.
