Draymond Green Dismissed For Hitting Rudy Gobert
The NBA in-season tournament game resulted in the ejection of Klay Thompson of the Warriors and Jaden McDaniels of the Wolves for inciting the fight.
On Tuesday, Draymond Green was asked to leave after he decided to take matters into his own hands.
An early-game incident in the opening two minutes of an NBA in-season tournament resulted in the expulsion of Golden State Warriors big man Dwyane Wade, Minnesota Timberwolves player Jaden McDaniels, and teammate Klay Thompson.
It all started with pushing and tugging during transition between Thompson and McDaniels. When Wolves center Rudy Gobert attempted to yank Thompson back, Draymond Green took hold of him instead. The 7-footer was then forcefully hauled away for a full seven seconds.
In addition to Green receiving a harsh two foul and two double technical from Thompson and McDaniels, all players were automatically ejected. It remained 0-0.
For Green, the punishments probably won’t end there. In the days ahead, he may be suspended. The notion that he was only attempting to maintain harmony was not well received by additional replays.
Karl-Anthony Towns of the Timberwolves attempted to give Green a taste of his own medicine by trying to pull him off Gobert, but Green kept his chin down like a seasoned MMA fighter. It was an overlooked scene in that footage.
With this dismissal, which also happened to be his 18th in the postseason, Green now leads all current NBA players. Just this past weekend, he was ejected for the seventeenth time, but in significantly more suspicious conditions.
It seems that Thompson disagreed with his own expulsion in the interim.
With the victory, the Timberwolves improved to 2-0 in West Group C in the in-season competition standings. The Warriors have lost one game.
“He deliberately put Gobert in a headlock and refuses to let go,” crew Chief Tyler Ford said to a press reporter after the game, explaining why Green received a flagrant 2. This behavior is pointless and needless.” Gobert was seen to be a mediator and was not punished for trying to keep Thompson and McDaniels apart.
When it came to the confrontation, both teams had much to say afterward. McDaniels said he was “just trying to protect myself,” while Warriors head coach Steve Kerr claimed Gobert had put his hands on Thompson’s neck, which caused Green to respond. Thompson was also supported by Kerr, who said that he wasn’t supposed to be dismissed.
Green’s actions were described by Gobert as “clown behavior.”
Due to right knee pain, Stephen Curry was unable to play from the start of the game for the Warriors. They lost two of their longstanding trio in the space of ten seconds, and there were still at least forty-six minutes remaining.
Though it’s unclear if any of that was on Green’s mind on Tuesday, the two had some historical experience together. Upon learning that Green had allegedly hit teammate Jordan Poole during practice at the start of the previous season, Gobert very quietly made fun of him and said, “Insecurity is always loud.”
Six months later, in response to Gobert striking a teammate, Draymond Green tweeted the identical four words, demonstrating that he witnessed and recalled that.
