The Warriors have had two sets of reactions so far to the controversial Draymond Green suspension. Anonymously, they told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski that they were “livid.”
“They certainly didn’t agree with the one-game suspension,” Woj said on “Get Up” Wednesday morning. “I think they were surprised at it.”
ESPN’s Zach Lowe had a similar read from his Dubs sources, saying that the Warriors were “shocked and caught off guard” by the late-night league announcement. Lowe also had a report about the team’s frustration with Domantis Sabonis, who grabbed Green’s ankle and was subsequently chest-stomped.
“There’s a sense in the organization that Sabonis is shoving people on offensive rebounds and playing with his elbows out and using the ball as a weapon on offense,” Lowe said on his podcast Wednesday. “’So of course someone eventually retaliated.’ You can give that any validity you want.”
The team was a bit more measured when their faces and names were attached to their comments, including general manager Bob Myers, who addressed the media in San Francisco on Wednesday afternoon.
“We’ve been here before,” Myers said. “Once these decisions are made, there’s no appellate court. It’s over. You can react however you want, but it doesn’t change the fact that he’s not playing… It doesn’t matter.”
Myers repeated some form of the “it-is-what-it-is” mantra to reporters throughout his presser Wednesday, even when he was asked about how the league made it a point to note Green’s reputation was a factor in his suspension. He did say that he told Green to cool his heels and not speak publicly the day after the suspension was announced, telling him, “Whatever you have to say, don’t say tonight.”
Myers did have one eyebrow-raising comment given Green’s extensive history of illegal kicks, whacks and stomps. “Each time he’s messed up, my hope is he learns from it and becomes better,” Myers said.
Head coach Steve Kerr wouldn’t get into the validity of the suspension, other than to say that he was “extremely surprised.” He also used his time with reporters to stand by his player.
“Draymond is incredibly competitive and passionate and fiery, and he’s helped us win four championships,” Kerr said. “I’ve said it many times: We don’t have a single championship here without Draymond Green, and that’s the truth. He’s crossed the line over the years, and that’s part of it. We will go to bat for Draymond and go to battle with him every day of the week.”
Kerr did admit Green can be hard to corral when things get hot. “It doesn’t seem to make much impact,” he said of any attempts to calm Green down. “Look, he’s the ultimate competitor… Everybody knows, he’s going to occasionally tip over the edge, and his emotions get the best of him, and that’s part of it. There’s no stopping Draymond. You’re not gonna be able to put your arm around him and calm him down and say, ‘OK, let’s move forward.’ Doesn’t work that way. But like I said, that’s OK. We accept Draymond for who he is and what he stands for.”
One thing was apparent: The “ball as a weapon” complaint didn’t come from Kevon Looney. The Warriors center, whom Sabonis tied up in foul trouble on Monday, said his counterpart was “normal.”
“I mean, as a big man it’s what we do,” Looney said Wednesday. “I think that’s pretty normal. Pushing stuff and grabbing, that’s all part of protocol down here and you know, sometimes they call it, sometimes they don’t.”
