Oft-Suspended Former Laker Reached Out To Draymond Green After Suspension

If anything, Green's absence seemed to galvanize his team.

When the NBA suspended All-Defensive Team Golden State Warriors power forward Draymond Green for stepping on the sternum of All-Star Sacramento Kings center Domantas Sabonis after Sabonis grabbed Green's foot during a scuffle in a playoff game, some of us at All Lakers speculated that seeing Green singled out for his shenanigans yet again might prove to be the final nail in the coffin of his relationship with the Warriors. Green has a player option for the final season of his current contract, and could seek (ahem) greener pastures elsewhere if he feels unwanted.

Invariably, although the Warriors trailed the Kings 2-0 at the team, the team went on to win both its game without him and the game in which he made his triumphant return, evening the series at 2-2. Sacramento's best player in this postseason, All-Star point guard De'Aaron Fox, will be playing through a fractured index finger in his shooting hand. Suddenly, it appears that the defending champs have all the momentum in the world, and the team's Green issues may not be a problem, after all.

Following the Green-Sabonis Game 2 altercation, 2010 Los Angeles Lakers champion Metta Sandiford-Artest reached out to the Warriors star, as he told Brandon "Scoop B" Robinson during an exclusive phone conversation.

“I DMed Draymond,” Sandiford-Artest said. "I like him and I just felt like that he’s a legend and this is me and I’ve made tons of mistakes and I can teach people from my mistakes but, I want to tell him relax while in your career; no matter what happens win or loss just try to win but don’t get frustrated to the point where you…. You know? I don’t want to talk about anything that can add to how people think about him.” 

The difference between Sandiford-Artest, who knows quite a bit about suspensions for in-game misbehavior, and Green is that Sandiford-Artest feels bad about it.

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