Warriors’ Draymond Green nears return to team: report

Four-time NBA champion Draymond Green has been away from the Golden State Warriors several weeks. 

The NBA suspended him Dec. 13, one day after Green was involved in an on-court altercation with Phoenix Suns center Jusuf Nurkic. 

ESPN reported Green will be permitted at the Warriors’ practice site in the near future. 

Green has missed ten games, and the Warriors’ contest with the defending champion Denver Nuggets Thursday will be the 11th game the forward has missed. Green was suspended earlier this season after he appeared to put Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert in a chokehold.

At the time of the suspension, the NBA said Green would “be required to meet certain league and team conditions” before he could return.

DRAYMOND GREEN’S PROGRESS TOWARD RETURN TO WARRIORS FROM SUSPENSION TRACKED VIA VIRTUAL MEETINGS: REPORT

Green is getting counseling as a condition of his latest suspension. He is also attending virtual meetings with team officials, representatives from the players union and the NBA to track his progress toward reinstatement, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported last month.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver will make the decision on Green’s return. ESPN reported there is a “general belief” Green will likely sit out around 11–13 games, barring any setbacks. 

On Tuesday, Warriors coach Steve Kerr was asked if he had been in communication with Green during the suspension. 

“A little bit. We text,” Kerr said. “But we’ve been giving him his space, and he’s been giving us ours.”

Green inked a four-year contract extension with the Warriors in late June. He is reportedly losing an estimated $153,954 every game he misses. The Warriors have not added another player to the roster to replace Green during his extended absence.

Green was named the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2017 and has long been considered a key piece of the Warriors’ dynasty that produced four NBA titles.

The Warriors have gone 6-5 during Green’s suspension.

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