https://www.nbcsports.com/bayarea/warriors/nbas-draymond-green-treatment-another-case-subjective-discipline

Draymond suspension another case of NBA's subjective discipline

50M ago
by Monte Poole

SAN FRANCISCO – Watching and rewatching the video of the three-second
dustup between Draymond Green and Domantas Sabonis in Game 2 of the
Warriors-Kings playoff series keeps leading to the same two questions:

What would have been the acceptable way for Green to break free from the
grip of the larger Sabonis?

And where was the appropriate place for Green’s right foot to land once
freed?

If I’m Draymond, those are my first questions to Joe Dumars and his
fellow NBA decision-makers who late Tuesday night decided to suspend
Green for Game 3 on Thursday.

Those questions and many others probably made it to the ears of Dumars,
a longtime friend of Draymond who happens to be the executive vice
president and chief of the league’s basketball operations.

Neither general manager Bob Myers, who spoke directly to Dumars late
Tuesday night, nor coach Steve Kerr were willing to provide details
about the conversations they had with Green or anyone from the NBA.

It was resoundingly clear that Myers was disappointed, and that both
Kevon Looney and Kerr have questions.

“I was a little surprised,” Looney said Wednesday after practice.

“I was extremely surprised,” Kerr said. “And then, immediately into,
‘All right, what’s next? How do we win the game?’”

Kerr had to move on quickly because this was the team’s only practice
before Game 3. Every minute lost is an invitation for defeat.

But “extremely surprised” by the suspension is a euphemism for utterly
dumbfounded. The suspicion here is that Kerr didn’t care to elaborate
because he risked sounding whiny and being slapped with a fine.

Kerr’s viewpoint, however, is popular in and around the league. For
obvious, and valid, reasons.

The first is that the NBA clearly punished Draymond not only for his
actions on Monday but also previous actions for which he already has
been punished.

“The suspension was based in part on Green’s history of unsportsmanlike
acts,” read a line in the official statement.

In short, nail Draymond for his behavior on Monday and for his behavior
on the previous times we’ve nailed him. This rubbed Myers the wrong way.

“He knows he’s not perfect,” Myers said of Green. “His mistakes are out
there for the world. Every mistake he makes is blasted everywhere.
That’s the price of being in the public. That’s what comes with being
him. Each time he has mis-stepped, my hope is that he learns from it and
becomes better.

“But, again, he has been punished. For people to go, ‘Well, when’s it
going to stop?’ Maybe those people might think this (punishment) is a
positive.”

There is another factor here that was mentioned but seemed inadequately
considered by the league: Sabonis was the instigator.

Insofar as Draymond’s act was retaliatory, a fine would not have been
surprising and, likely, was what most expected. The NBA, however,
decided that Draymond, by literally stomping himself free of Sabonis,
was impolite in attempting to escape and join his teammates in transition.

“My leg got grabbed,” Green said Monday night, an hour after the
incident. “Second time in two nights. Referees just watch it. I’ve got
to land my foot somewhere. And I’m not the most flexible person, so it’s
not stretching that far.”

Green extended his arm, implying that his leg could not have achieved
the 90-degree angle the NBA suggests should have been used as the
getaway move. Rather, he used Sacramento’s 7-foot, 250-pound center as a
stair off which to launch his attempt to flee.

And, yes, that foot released some frustration, which, under the
circumstances, hardly can be considered unusual.

Watching the incident from the time Malik Monk invaded the paint to
release a floater, Sabonis went beyond the usual “physical” activity.
His first move was grabbing the back of Klay Thompson’s jersey and
tossing him aside. Thompson stumbled but did not fall. Sabonis fell,
landing on Green’s right ankle and then, as Green tried to move,
grabbing it. When Green lifted his foot to escape, his first step was
directly on Sabonis’ lower rib cage.

If Draymond tries to step back, he likely falls backward.

If he tries to step forward, he likely risks a groin injury.

Either way, the quickest and safest – for him – the route was to drop
his foot on the guy who had been trying to tackle him.

“As far as how we felt, we’ve been here before and we’ve got to play a
game tomorrow night,” Myers said. “Once these decisions are made,
there’s no appellate court. It’s over. You can react however you want to
react, but it doesn’t change the fact that he’s not playing.”

It’s commonly believed by basketball fans and even players and coaches
that the NBA’s discipline process is subjective. Draymond is, in this
case, Exhibit A.