Warriors coach: Giving green space is “important” during suspension

Golden State coach Steve Kerr on Thursday declined to confirm a report that Draymond Green would soon return to the team's facility.

The strategist stressed that at the present time, it is important for both parties to give the suspended attacking team the space it needs.

Green is “expected to return” to the Warriors facility in the coming days, ESPN reported.

“I don’t know what’s going on,” Kerr said. “Obviously someone else is doing it, but not me.”

Three weeks ago, the NBA indefinitely suspended Green, who was fired for punching Phoenix Suns center Jusuf Nurkic in the face while the two were struggling.

“This is not a sprained ankle or knee,” Kerr said Thursday before the Warriors played Denver. “It's an issue Draymond is trying to deal with, so space is important for him and for us. “We're trying to win games and he's trying to put himself in a position to come back.”

Kerr denied that the fact that Green was not at the facility during his suspension was a relevant issue.

“We discussed it and decided it was best,” he added.

In imposing the suspension – Green's second this season – the league explained that the players would have to “meet certain conditions in the league and the team before returning.” He added that the indefinite suspension “takes into account Green's repeated history of unsportsmanlike behaviour.”

The player was suspended for five games earlier this season after grabbing Rudy Gobert by the neck during a game in November.

Green, 33, received a four-year contract extension worth $100 million in June. He was also suspended for one game the previous postseason, when he stepped on Domantas Sabonis in the chest during Game 2 of a first-round series against Sacramento.