By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
The long list of violent actions involving Draymond Green includes Rudy Gobert. The French center was on the receiving end of the infamous headlock during a meeting of the Minnesota Timberwolves with the Golden State Warriors in Target Center on November 14. The aggressor was then suspended for five games without pay.
Shortly after returning to action in the 2023-24 NBA Regular Season, Green resurfaced in a similar situation. Hitting Bosnian Jusuf Nurkic resulted in the league handing him an indefinite suspension.
“I have empathy for him,” Gobert told ESPN on Thursday, “You see somebody that is not well inside and suffering. You take away the game and all that, and you want somebody to be well and be able to do what we do every night and compete and be happy.”
“I am not sure what that really means, so it is hard to tell,” he added regarding the length of the suspension, “I mean, you do not want someone to get badly hurt. You have got to fix that. That is it.”
Gobert, 31, reacted to the NBA requiring Green to ‘meet certain league and team conditions before he returns to play’ after tallying eight points, 12 rebounds, five assists, three steals, and one block for the Timberwolves in the road win against the Dallas Mavericks and Luka Doncic. Up to 18-5, his side leads the Western Conference standings and is tied with the Boston Celtics on top of the overall standings.
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