Draymond Green Hasn't Earned Much Benefit of the Doubt From NBA

After his latest ejection, Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green fielded questions from reporters about the moment in the second half when he swung his arms around and connected with Suns center Jusuf Nurkic in the face.

Green's explanation for the incident: It was an unfortunate accident. Green said that as he posted up, Nurkic pulled on his hip. The flailing arms were an attempt to sell a foul call without flopping.

"So I spun away and unfortunately, I hit him," Green said. "So, like I said, I apologize to Jusuf because I didn't intend to hit him."

Green, of course, has a lengthy history of questionable moments, ejections and suspensions.

He may have cost the Warriors a championship in 2016 when he tangled with LeBron James, getting himself suspended for a crucial Game 5. The Cavaliers seized momentum in that game and rattled off three straight wins to claim a title.

In 2018, Green was suspended for a game after arguing with teammate Kevin Durant, an altercation that started the process of Durant's departure from the Warriors.

And in 2022, Green punched Jordan Poole in the face during a preseason practice (Poole now plays for the Washington Wizards).

Earlier this year, Green earned a five-game suspension when he put Rudy Gobert in a headlock as Klay Thompson and Jaden McDaniels scuffled in a contest between the Warriors and Minnesota Timberwolves.

In his comments after the 119-116 loss on Tuesday, Green seemed to be a mixture of apologetic, defiant and resigned.

Green apologized multiple times to Nurkic. The apologies seemed to double as a case for Green's sincerity to the NBA's front office, which makes decisions about suspensions, since Green never apologized to Gobert.

"I hit [Nurkic]," Green said Tuesday. "So I do apologize to him. I didn't intend to hit him. I think you guys have known me long enough. If I intended to do something, I'm not apologizing for it. But I did make contact with him, so I apologize, because it wasn't my intention."

Green was also defiant against reporters who suggested he needs to be cognizant of his small margin for error with officials, especially given the Warriors' tenuous situation at 10-13 (11th in the Western Conference) following Tuesday's loss.

"That's not that situation," Green said. "That situation is me trying to sell a foul call. On most situations, yes, I'd agree with you. I can't put the team in a bad spot. But I didn't intend to put the team in a bad spot. I intended to get a foul, and I made contact with him... I haven't been arguing with refs since I've been back [from suspension], I haven't done any of those things because I do understand that."

Green seemed resigned. He knew he deserved his ejection, and the league has made an example of his behavior in the past. The NBA credited the length of the suspension after the Gobert incident in part to "Green's history of unsportsmanlike acts."

"I don't know," Green said, when a reporter asked him about a potential suspension. "Like I said, I know what my intentions were, and that's really all I can speak on."

It seems possible (maybe likely) that the league will determine that Green's explanation of the events on Tuesday rang hollow. They certainly seemed to ring hollow to Nurkic.

"What's going on with him, I don't know," Nurkic said postgame. "Personally, I feel like that brother needed help. I'm glad he didn't try to choke me, but at the same time, ain't nothing to do with basketball man. I'm just out there trying to play basketball. He's out there swinging. I think we [see] that often. But hope whatever he got in his life, it gets better."

Green's comments postgame seemed sincere. It's certainly possible, based on the video, that he and Nurkic got tangled and the flailing arms were an accident.

But by apologizing and pointing to his previous non-apologies as evidence of his sincerity, Green is making a defiant appeal for the benefit of the doubt. If that's his argument, he'd be wise to resign himself to whatever repercussions could be coming.