Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green has completed his five-game suspension for putting Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert in a headlock. Green was adamant that he’ll always have his teammates’ backs in a situation like that.
“I don’t live my life with regrets,” Green said after practice, the first time he has spoken to reporters since his suspension. “I’ll come to a teammate’s defense any time that I’m in a position to come to a teammate’s defense. … What matters to me is how the people that I care about feel, first and foremost. How are the people that I care about affected? How are the people I care about, what do they have to deal with? That’s it for me.”
Green said that after talking with Warriors coach Steve Kerr and general manager Mike Dunleavy, that he’s not going to change who he is.
“The consensus amongst all of us is that I’m going to be me no matter what. That’s not going to change,” Green said. “But in saying that, there’s always a better way that something can be done. So it’s figuring out a better way. That’s the consensus among all of us.”
Green also said he shouldn’t continue to be punished for prior transgressions. He feels that the NBA shouldn’t be taking that into account with current and future incidents.
“To continue mentioning, ‘Oh, well, he did this in the past,’ I paid for those,” Green said. “I got suspended in Game 5 of the NBA Finals. You can’t keep suspending me for those actions.”
