Draymond Green was ejected for putting Rudy Gobert in a chokehold during the game between the Golden State Warriors and Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday night. There is more punishment coming Green’s way, you’d think, in the form of a suspension, but the question is how long would it be.
This incident wasn’t the type we see every now and then in the league, but there is actually a precedent of sorts. Back in 1997, Warriors star Latrell Sprewell had been suspended for the year by the NBA (reduced from 82 games to 68 games) for choking and then hitting his head coach, P.J. Carlesimo.
Carlesimo was known for his aggressive coaching style and had butted heads with Sprewell fairly often. On December 1, 1997, though, things got completely out of hand.
The story goes that Carlesimo had told Sprewell during practice that he had to “put a little mustard” on a pass. The star guard wasn’t in the mood to listen to any criticism, however, and warned his head coach to stay away from him.
Carlesimo approached him nonetheless and Sprewell just snapped. He threatened to kill his coach and started to choke him. Carlesimo was saved when players and team officials managed to pull Sprewell away from him and the guard was then thrown out of practice.
While that alone would have been pretty bad, Sprewell returned around 20 minutes later and unfortunately, it wasn’t to apologize. He punched Carlesimo in the face and had to be dragged away once again.
Bizarrely, the Warriors only suspended him for 10 games for these acts, but following public outcry, they voided his contract. The NBA also came down heavily on Sprewell, as he was initially suspended for a year.
“Latrell Sprewell assaulted Coach P.J. Carlesimo twice at Monday’s practice,” NBA Commissioner David Stern said. “First, he choked him until forcibly pulled away. Then, after leaving practice, Mr. Sprewell returned and fought his way through others in order to commit a second, and this time clearly premeditated, assault.
“A sports league does not have to accept or condone behavior that would not be tolerated in any other segment of society. Accordingly, Latrell Sprewell is suspended from the NBA for one year.”
Sprewell took the case to arbitration, which led to the contract voiding being overturned. His suspension was also reduced from 82 games to 68 games, but it meant Sprewell still ended up losing $6.8 million, which was a heavy price to pay. He also never played for the Warriors again, as they traded him to the New York Knicks.
Sprewell felt the punishment was too harsh and even famously stated on 60 Minutes that he wasn’t choking Carlesimo too hard, as he was able to breathe. This incident also led to him losing his shoe deal with Converse.
Coming back to Green, his situation obviously is not the same as that of Sprewell. While he did choke Gobert, there was no premeditated assault after that in the form of a punch or anything else along those lines.
Had he done anything like that, then maybe he’d have been staring down the kind of punishment that Sprewell received. A year-long suspension without pay would have meant Draymond would have lost over $20 million, which would have stung him a lot.
The fact that nothing followed the chokehold makes me think there is no way he gets suspended for more than 10 games. If I had to take a guess, it’d be around 5. Adam Silver being a lot more lenient than Stern ever was, also helps Draymond in this case, as the former commissioner certainly would have come down harder on him.
Green’s reputation though, continues to sink by the passing day, it seems. He has committed countless dirty plays on the court and at this point, has lost any benefit of the doubt in any situation he finds himself in.
It’s not just his opponents who have to watch out for Green either. Draymond has become the most toxic teammate in the NBA, having infamously clashed with Kevin Durant and Jordan Poole over the years. He is not going to change, though, and the Warriors have just accepted that by now.
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