Draymond Green was really going through it during his time away serving his suspension … or so he wants us to believe.
The Golden State Warriors star Green, who was just reinstated from his indefinite league suspension over the weekend, spoke publicly on Monday for the first time since his the suspension was handed down. Predictably, it was on an episode of his self-titled podcast for The Volume.
During the podcast, Green made the big claim that he considered retiring from the game altogether while he was suspended … only for NBA commissioner Adam Silver to talk him out of it.
“I told him, ‘Adam this is too much for me. … This is too much. It’s all becoming too much for me — and I’m going to retire,'” Green said, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. “And Adam said, ‘You’re making a very rash decision and I won’t let you do that.’
“We had a long, great conversation — very helpful to me,” added Green. “Very thankful to play in a league with a commissioner like Adam who’s more about helping you than hurting you, helping you than punishing you. He’s more about the players.”
Granted, it would definitely be in Silver’s best interest for Green to continue playing. Silver has worked hard over the years to cultivate an image as a players’ commissioner, and for one of the most well-known names in the league to retire after a league suspension than work towards rehabilitation would be very damaging to that much. Love him or hate him, Green is also great for ratings as many will tune in to games with hopes of seeing him fail.
On Green’s end, he had a lot of reasons not to retire either — 100 million of them to be exact. Green agreed to a new four-year, $100 million extension with the Warriors over the summer, and though he lost a decent chunk of money due to his suspension, it is also in his best financial interest to keep on playing.
It does sound like Green sincerely appreciates the way that Silver handled and worked with him during his indefinite suspension, which ultimately lasted for 12 games. But as for if three-and-a-half weeks away was enough for Green to properly work through all his issues (especially after countless violent on-court incidents dating back nearly a decade now), we should find that out soon enough.
