Tuesday marked 10 games into Draymond Green’s indefinite suspension, and the conventional wisdom around the league has always been he would be out 10-15 games.
However, when asked about it Tuesday, Warriors coach Steve Kerr made it sound like Green could be out a while longer.
Tonight will be the 10th game of Draymond Green’s indefinite suspension. Steve Kerr said Green still hasn’t been in the facility. They’ve had some text communication. But no next step update as of now.
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) January 3, 2024
“We’ve been giving him his space, he’s been giving us ours.” pic.twitter.com/NMsOfKrSMV
Kerr said he was “not sure” when Green might return, but these two comments raised eyebrows:
“We text, but we’ve been giving him his space, he’s been giving us ours.”
“He’s not been in the facility, at least with us. He may have been coming in on his own.”
Under the terms of the league suspension, Green is allowed to be around the team and practice with them. That he has chosen not to do that to this point and apparently has had limited communication with Kerr suggests this could last longer than projected. (Some fans have wanted to make something of Green being at LeBron James’ 39th birthday party during the suspension, but there is nothing to that — he is not under house arrest. Going to a party and him going through counseling and whatever help/treatment he sought out are not mutually exclusive.)
The Warriors have gone 6-4 in the games Green has missed during this suspension and sit a game below .500 and out of even the play-in if the postseason started today. Jonathan Kuminga, forced into a starting role since Green was suspended, has played well and earned more run no matter what Kerr does with his rotations when Green returns.
