SAN FRANCISCO -- Warriors coach Steve Kerr would neither confirm nor deny reports that Draymond Green would be returning to the team’s facilities soon to begin preparations for his comeback from an indefinite NBA suspension.
“I don’t know at this point,” Kerr said before Thursday’s game against the Denver Nuggets at Chase Center. “Until the league lets us know their decision on his suspension, there’s really nothing to update.”
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Thursday’s game with the Nuggets is the 11th that Green has missed after being suspended for striking Phoenix Suns center Jusuf Nurkić on Dec. 12. The Warriors star also served a five-game suspension earlier this season following an altercation with Rudy Gobert of the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Green has been away from the team for three weeks, although a report by ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski on Thursday indicated Green’s return is imminent.
“Green – on an indefinite league suspension since Dec. 13 – is expected to return to the Warriors' facility in the coming days to start ramping up to resume play, sources told ESPN on Thursday,” Wojnarowski wrote. “NBA commissioner Adam Silver has the final say on the reinstatement timeline, but it's believed that Green will have satisfied the league's requirements to return once he is deemed properly ramped up to play, sources said.”
Kerr said last week that he has kept in contact with Green, but the team was giving him space to deal with his issues. Kerr added that he was unaware about a pending return for the Warriors power forward.
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“I don’t know that,” Kerr said. “Apparently someone else does.”
The Warriors entered Thursday’s game against Denver with a 7-8 record in the 15 games Green has missed due to suspension. The team’s defense has been the biggest issue, an area that Green – the 2016-17 NBA Defensive Player of the year – excels at and certainly would provide a boost to upon his return.
Since his second suspension, Green has been undergoing private counseling that was part of the terms set forth by the NBA for him to return.
Getting Green that help, Kerr said, has been the Warriors’ primary focus.
“Right from the beginning this was not a sprained ankle, this was not a twisted knee,,” Kerr said. “This is an issue that Draymond is trying to get help with, so space was 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.”
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