Stop us if you've heard this one before: Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors recently got ejected from an NBA game. We're not even two months into the season, and it's already happened three times. Yet this ejection was perhaps his most egregious offense. He essentially did a spinning punch into the face of Phoenix Suns center Jusuf Nurkić. Green received a flagrant foul 2 and was ejected from the game.
The NBA came down with a swift punishment. Operations chief Joe Dumars suspended Green indefinitely, citing his "repeated history of unsportsmanlike acts." Green has been ejected from 18 NBA games, the most among active players.
Green has played in 15 games this season, and this will be his second suspension of the year. It could prove to be quite costly, too.
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By its very definition, an indefinite suspension has no set ending date. The league might have an idea it's working towards, though it seems like the length will largely depend on Green having enough time to receive proper counseling and assistance.
If Green's suspension lasts less than 20 games, he'll lose $153,941 per game. If he ends up missing more than 20 games, that penalty goes up to $202,922 per game.
Let's do a little quick math here. Ja Morant was suspended for 25 games after flashing a gun during an Instagram Live video. Green's actions are different, but part of Morant's suspension was due to previous poor behavior. Green certainly has a reputation from his frequent ejections and suspensions, so it's probably safe to assume he'll miss at least 25 games, too.
That would take away $5,073050 from his earnings.
But what if Green's suspension goes even longer? Remember, Ron Artest got a 73-game suspension for his role in the Malice at the Palace debacle, which was the remainder of the NBA season. As of Green's suspension, the Warriors have 59 games remaining.
If he misses the entire rest of the regular season, Green will lose $11,972,398 — nearly $12 million.
And that's only his earnings from his NBA salary. This suspension could impact endorsement deals, or perhaps sponsors will drop out from supporting his podcast.
Green also just signed a four-year, $100 million contract to stay with the Warriors. That money is fully guaranteed, but the deal was signed before these latest incidents. If he's suspended for a long time, maybe the team will look to restructure the contract so he has to pay some of that money back.
Green has already forfeited more than $2.2 million from fines and suspensions throughout his NBA career. That number's about to get a lot higher in a hurry.
