Radio personality Chris “Mad Dog” Russo thinks that the average NBA fan is tired of Draymond Green, thinks he’s a “clown” and wants to see the Golden State Warriors forward suspended for 25 games following his latest ejection.
Russo expressed his feelings on the matter during an appearance on ESPN’s “First Take” on Wednesday.
“The average fan out there has had enough,” said Russo. “… The average fan out there thinks, I gotta say it, I gotta be honest, thinks Draymond’s a clown, hurts his team, always in trouble, maybe a little overrated. … The average fan doesn’t have any sympathy for Draymond Green. … How about 25 games?”
Green was ejected for the third time this season on Wednesday night after he struck Phoenix Suns center Jusuf Nurkic in the head while wilding flailing his arms around in order to try to sell a call in the third quarter of the contest.
Jusuf Nurkic went down after taking a hit from Draymond Green 😬 pic.twitter.com/bif0fVDxG6
— Ahn Fire Digital (@AhnFireDigital) December 13, 2023
At this point, the Warriors are waiting to see if Green will be subsequently suspended for his actions in the game against Phoenix. Given his past history with behavioral issues, a suspension seems likely.
Green was suspended for five games earlier this season for choking Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert and dragging him across the court. The hope was that suspension would help to prevent Green from acting out again, but that clearly didn’t work.
If Green gets suspended again, it would be the sixth separate suspension of his career, per Spotrac. In addition to the five-game suspension he served earlier this season, Green has also previously served four different one-game suspensions.
The concerning aspect for Golden State is that three of Green’s five suspensions occurred this year. It’s not like they’re ancient history. If anything, Green’s behavior seems to be getting worse as his career wears on, as opposed to improving. The Warriors need Green out on the floor to be at their best, and he’s consistently compromising his own availability with his behavior.
For what it’s worth, Green publicly apologized to Nurkic after the game and said that he didn’t mean to hit the Suns center.
“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. “I sell calls with my arms…so I was selling the call…and I swung and unfortunately I hit him.”
Green might not have meant to hit Nurkic, but unfortunately he doesn’t deserve the benefit of the doubt at this point in his career as he’s been involved in far too many infractions.
Moving forward the Warriors just have to hope that Green can get his behavior under control. The team signed him to a four-year, $100 million extension in June.
