Did NBA Just Indirectly Ensure Draymond Green Could Leave Warriors For Lakers?

The league's latest decision on the Golden State Warriors power forward could help possibly steer him to Los Angeles.

The NBA has announced that Golden State Warriors star center Draymond Green has been suspended from something of a must-win third game in the team's ongoing series against the Sacramento Kings. Although Sacramento at 48-34 is the third seed, the 44-38 Warriors (the Western Conference's sixth seed) were the odds-on favorites to win the series, no doubt partially due to their pedigree as the reigning champs.

During the game on Monday, Green aggressively stomped on the chest of Kings All-Star center Domantas Sabonis after Sabonis grabbed his leg during a scuffle, leading to a technical foul on Sabonis and a flagrant two tech call -- and automatic ejection on Green. Without the Warriors' defensive leader, the Kings went on to win, 114-106, taking a 2-0 series lead.

Apparently, Green's long history of aggressive in-game shenanigans played a part in the NBA's decision to suspend him for essentially a must-win third game, scheduled for tomorrow in San Francisco.

"The suspension was based in part on Green's history of unsportsmanlike acts," the league wrote in a press statement. 

Per Kendra Andrews and Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, imaging on Sabonis' chest were initially negative. 

"My leg got grabbed — the second time in two nights — and the referee is just watching,” Green said, according to Andrews. “I got to land my foot somewhere, and I’m not the most flexible person, so it’s not stretching that far. … I can only step so far with someone pulling my leg away … I guess ankle grabbing is OK.”

Now, the Kings have revealed that Sabonis has a bruised sternum following the incident, and the 6'11" big man is considered questionable to play through the bout Thursday, Andrews reports.

Green has long been rumored to be at least open to joining his friend LeBron James with your Los Angeles Lakers. He holds a $27.6 million player option for next season with Golden State, but could opt out to join another team on a long-term deal. If the Warriors go down 3-0 tomorrow night, that would most likely spell doom for their season, as no team in NBA history has ever overcome a 3-0 deficit in a playoff series. Given that this is anything but the first time that Green's antics have cost his team dearly in various situations, it's possible that a divorce could be seen as the best solution for all involved parties.

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