Draymond Green suspended five games for Rudy Gobert headlock
Golden State Warriors’ Draymond Green suspended, could return Nov. 28
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The NBA announced that Draymond Green will be suspended for five games for putting Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert in a headlock during Tuesday’s game. This is Green’s fifth suspension in his career.
Green will be unavailable for the Warriors’ next two games against the Oklahoma City Thunder, as well as games against the Houston Rockets, Phoenix Suns, and San Antonio Spurs. On Nov. 28, he is expected to play in an in-season tournament game against the Sacramento Kings.
The NBA’s punishment is consistent with what the league established as a repeat-offender rule for Green during the playoffs last season following his altercation with Sacramento Kings center Domantas Sabonis, which resulted in a one-game suspension. Because of his history with the league, Green’s punishment is more severe.
“The length of the suspension is based, in part, on Green’s history of unsportsmanlike acts,” NBA executive vice president Joe Dumars said in a statement announcing the suspension.
Klay Thompson, Jaden McDaniels, and Rudy Gobert each received a $25,000 fine for their roles in the altercation.
Green was ejected from Tuesday’s game, along with Klay Thompson and Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels, after an altercation following a handsy box-out in which McDaniels ripped Thompson’s jersey. To separate the two, both teams, coaches, and security intervened, and Green caught Rudy Gobert pulling Thompson away from the scuffle by the neck and grabbed Gobert in a headlock to pull him away.
According to a pool report, Gobert was acting as a “peacemaker,” which absolved him of a foul called against him in real time.
“It’s kind of funny because I was telling myself before the game that Steph isn’t playing, so I know Draymond is going to try and get ejected,” Gobert said after the game. “Because he doesn’t want to play every time Steph doesn’t play — it’s his guy Steph.” He’ll do anything to avoid being ejected.”
Green and Thompson were defended by Steve Kerr.
“There is no way Klay should have been ejected,” he went on to say. “That’s absurd… Rudy had his hands on Klay’s neck all the way to the Draymond part. That’s why Draymond pursued Rudy.”
