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After Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green was suspended five games for putting Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert in a headlock, head coach Steve Kerr said he understands the punishment.
Kerr told reporters on Thursday that he felt Green “took it too far” and added, “The five games is deserved. We move forward.”
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“Yes, he definitely took it too far.”
Steve Kerr on Draymond/Gobert incident and suspension pic.twitter.com/fwcBFQQVFX
Kerr continued: “Draymond has to find a way to not cross the line–I’m not talking about an ejection or a technical–I’m talking about a physical act of violence. That’s inexcusable.”
As part of the announcement of Green’s suspension, NBA executive vice president Joe Dumars said the veteran forward’s history of unsportsmanlike conduct factored into the length of the ban.
The incident occurred 100 seconds into Tuesday’s game when Warriors guard Klay Thompson and Timberwolves swingman Jaden McDaniels got into an altercation. When Gobert grabbed Thompson to try to break it up, Green wrapped his arm around Gobert’s neck and dragged him away, refusing to let go of the hold for quite some time.
Green, who is serving his fifth career suspension, will lose $769,970 while he’s off the court. He will miss back-to-back games against the Oklahoma City Thunder followed by matchups with the Houston Rockets, Phoenix Suns and San Antonio Spurs, the latter of which is a part of the in-season tournament.
Kerr said third-year forward Jonathan Kuminga will start in Green’s place on Thursday against Oklahoma City and his directive to the 21-year-old is to “Run the floor, rebound, dive, get to the line. I want him to shoot the three.”
Kuminga is averaging a career-high 11.5 points per game this year. His season-high of 19 points came earlier this month in a win against the Thunder, so he will look for a similar performance in the next two games.
