Draymond Green has spoken to the media ahead of his return from a five-game suspension for choking Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert.
The Warriors forward was adamant that he doesn’t regret any of his actions because he was simply defending his teammate Klay Thompson.
“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 went on to explain how he spoke with Warriors head coach Steve Kerr and and general manager Mike Dunleavy and they all apparently concluded that he’s not going to change, even after the violent act on Gobert.
“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.”
Less than two minutes into the Warriors-Timberwolves game on November 14, things got heated between Thompson and Minnesota forward Jaden McDaniels and Thompson as Klay wouldn’t let go of McDaniels jersey.
Players rushed into the squabble and Gobert put his arms around Thompson to get him off, which is when Green pulled Gobert backwards while his arms were wrapped around Gobert’s neck in a headlock.
As has been the case with previous incidents, Green’s history of unsportsmanlike conduct played a role in the length of the ban, but he thinks he shouldn’t have to keep being punished for past transgressions.
“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.”
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