Draymond Green doesn't regret putting Rudy Gobert in a chokehold

"I don't live my life with regrets."

© Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr called Draymond Green's chokehold of Wolves center Rudy Gobert "inexcusable" but the oft-suspended big man says he doesn't regret his actions.

"I don't live my life with regrets," Green told media Sunday ahead of his return Tuesday night against the Kings.

A little over a minute into the Nov. 14 game between the Wolves and Warriors, the second game in three days for the teams, Warriors guard Klay Thompson and Wolves forward Jayden McDaniels were caught up in shoving match with both players holding onto each others jerseys. Gobert entered the fray, wrapping his arms around Thompson attempting to pull him off McDaniels, which is when Green put Gobert in a chokehold for several seconds.

Thompson, McDaniels and Gobert were all fined for their roles, while Green was suspended for five-games for his actions. In their announcement of Green's punishment, the league cited his history of unsportsmanlike conduct.

"I'll come to a teammate's defense any time that I'm in a position to come to a teammate's defense," Green continued Sunday. "What matters to me is how the people that I care about feel, first and foremost. How are the people that I care about affected? How are the people I care about, what do they have to deal with? That's it for me."

The Warriors are in the midst of a 2-7 stretch that has seen Golden State fall to 10th in the Western Conference.

Green won't apologize for his actions but admitted "there's always a better way that something can be done."

For the Wolves, they've moved on going 4-2 since the Warriors game vaulting themselves to the top of the Western Conference. Minnesota will host second-place Oklahoma City Tuesday in their final game of Group Play in the In-Season Tournament.

Minnesota and Golden State are scheduled to again in March at the Target Cents.