Kerr: Ban on Draymond ‘makes sense’

Los Angeles – Golden State coach Steve Kerr on Thursday backed the NBA’s decision to issue an indefinite suspension on Draymond Green, saying the open-ended ban gave the Warriors star a chance to change his ways.

Warriors stalwart Green was sanctioned by the NBA on Wednesday after his third ejection of the season on Tuesday, when he was tossed for violently swinging an arm into the head of Phoenix’s Jusuf Nurkic.

It was just the latest in a long line of incidents that have landed Green in disciplinary hot water over the years, and came just weeks after he was given a five-game ban for grabbing Minnesota’s Rudy Gobert in a headlock last month.

Kerr told reporters on Thursday ahead of the Warriors game with the Los Angeles Clippers that the NBA’s indefinite suspension of Green – a virtually unheard of sanction in the league – was the appropriate move.

“I think the suspension makes sense,” Kerr said. “To me, this is about more than basketball. It’s about helping Draymond.

“It’s an opportunity for Draymond to step away and to make a change in his approach, in his life. And that’s not an easy thing to do.”

Kerr said the league’s five-game suspension of Green after the Gobert incident last month justified the stiffer penalty for this week’s latest flashpoint.

“You don’t just say ‘We’re going to do five games and he’s going to be fine’,” Kerr said.