Suns’ Frank Vogel on Draymond Green: ‘Reckless, dangerous play’

The Suns held on to beat the Warriors on Tuesday night and they may partially have Draymond Green to thank. He was again ejected, this time for a Flagrant 2 foul for backhanding Suns center Jusuf Nurkic.

Green never apologized for his chokehold of Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert, but he did apologize to Nurkic immediately after the game. Still, it did not sit well with the Suns.

“(It was) a reckless, dangerous play,” Vogel told reporters of the latest Green incident. “I’m sensitive to our guys getting hit on plays like that. I didn’t like it. The refs did what they had to do. The league will do what they have to do.”

Nurkic added that it’s not uncommon for Green to be in this situation and perhaps he needs to address why it keeps happening.

“What’s going on with him?” Nurkic asked. “I don’t know. Personally, I feel like that brother needs help. I’m glad he didn’t try to choke me. At the same time, it ain’t nothing to do with basketball.”

All three of Green’s latest victims — Gobert, Nurkic and Kings center Domantas Sabonis — have been international players. Green also punched out former Warriors guard Jordan Poole at the start of last season in practice.

“We need him,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr told reporters. “We need Draymond. But he knows that, we’ve talked to him. He’s got to find a way to keep his poise and be out there for his teammates… if we’re gonna be a really good team, we need him.”

Draymond has been ejected after flagrant foul on Nurkić pic.twitter.com/RmrLU5tdw8

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 13, 2023