“Appreciate you brother”: Draymond Green once thanked Jusuf Nurkic for singing praise 406 days before swinging arm
Considering the way Draymond Green swung his arm at Jusuf Nurkic, leading to the Golden State Warriors superstar getting suspended indefinitely by the NBA, you would not think that the two once had mutual respect following a Twitter (now X) exchange last year.
Fans were quick to bump a tweet from Nurkic on Nov. 4, 2022 calling everyone not to disrespect Green. Nurkic, who answered an ESPN poll question if Green is considered a star or not, tweeted:
"Just dump (clowns) will say something like this."
Nurkic was referring to critics saying that Green was just a beneficiary of the greatness of Steph Curry and Klay Thompson. Nurkic continued:
"(Draymond Green) is (a) Hall of Famer. Stop disrespecting that man!"
In response, Green said,
"I appreciate you, brother."
Love lost between Draymond Green, Jusuf Nurkic?
Fast forward to Dec. 12, 2023, 406 days after their friendship or at least their mutual respect began to flourish, it seemed like Draymond Green and Jusuf Nurkic were at odds in the play that led to Green's indefinite ban.
With 8:23 left in the third quarter of the game between the Golden State Warriors and the Phoenix Suns at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Green, upset at Nurkic's defense, swung his arm, which merited a Flagrant Foul Penalty 2 and Green's eventual ejection.
The day later, NBA head of basketball operations Joe Dumars announced that Draymond Green would be out indefinitely for his actions. The NBA said in a statement:
“Green's suspension will begin immediately. He will be required to meet certain league and team conditions before he returns to play.”
One year after showing love for Green to the point that he called him Hall of Fame material, Nurkic said that Green's foul on him was uncalled for:
“That had nothing to do with basketball. I’m just out there trying to play basketball.”
While there may be some respect left for Green, Nurkic's thoughts about the latter might never be the same again after the incident.
Draymond Green's ejection spoils Warriors' win against Suns
Green's ejection cost the Golden State Warriors the win, according to coach Steve Kerr.
Kerr said that before the incident, the Warriors were fine with their small ball game plan with Green playing the center position.
“Huge swing,” Kerr said. “We felt good having him at the 5, spreading the floor. Obviously, that changed the lineup around.”
With Green suspended probably for the rest of the season unless he meets the conditions for his reactivation, Kerr will have to fine-tune his rotation for the next games.