Golden State is moving on from Draymond Green while he reflects: ‘We are giving him his space’

The last time Draymond Green played was on December 12, as he continues to serve his indefinite suspension ever since he hit big man Jusuf Nurkic in the face and received his second ejection of the current 2023/24 NBA season. 

Before 2023 came to an end, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said that the league is expecting his suspension to be over after completing a 11-13 game ban and should be eligible to return somewhere around January 5 vs. Pistons and January 10 vs. Pelicans.

In a recent interview with Steve Kerr, the Warriors coach revealed that Draymond is also yet to even return to the team’s facility to work out with the team. This made us understand that the player is not expected to return any time soon.

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.

“We’ve been giving him his space, he’s been giving us ours.” pic.twitter.com/NMsOfKrSMV

— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) January 3, 2024

When asked about if he’s kept contact with the veteran forward, Kerr said they’ve been giving each other space. “A little bit. We text. But we’ve been giving him his space, and he’s been giving us ours,” he shared.

The Bay Area coach was then asked how long he considers the player will need in order to get back into playing shape, he said: “Not sure.”

After Golden State lost to Dallas at the start of the week, Kerr confessed he liked what he saw on the court and was expecting the team to repeat the same starting lineup. Against the Mavericks, he played with Trayce-Jackson Davis and Chris Paul into the first five, replacing Kevon Looney and Brandin Podziemski.

“We’re looking for a boost defensively. The last couple weeks with that starting group, the defensive numbers really weren’t great… We were looking for better defense from the start, and wanted to get Steph more involved as well. We felt like getting Chris on the floor would maybe unlock Steph a little bit,” he said.

Unfortunately, the team has no update on the severity of Gary Payton II’s injury that he suffered after missing out on an entire month with a calf issue.

“I feel bad for him more than anything,” Kerr shared. “Feel bad for us too, but mainly for him. He’s been out four or five weeks. He worked hard to get back to this point. He makes such a big impact for us. Fingers crossed that he’s not out too long.”

Steph Curry recently led the Warriors back to victory with a 36-point performance against the Magic

Golden State finally returned to victory on Tuesday after losing three games in a row last week, as they beat Orlando 121-115. The Bay Area squad depended on their superstar Stephen Curry who dropped in 36 points.

“Steph was amazing,” coach Kerr said. “But Steph is always amazing. Even when he doesn’t score 36 points, just the attention he draws defensively, what he does to an opposing defense, the way he opens up the floor, he’s a remarkable player. He really got himself going on a night when we needed it.”

The entire team stepped up for the win, while Curry was clutch and scored or set up 13 straight Warriors points in a four-minute stretch late in the fourth quarter.

“It was huge,” veteran Chris Paul said. “We’ve been struggling to get wins. It’s hard to win in this league. That team is a young team, well coached. They’ve been playing hard all season long, so this was a good win for us.”