Draymond Green's "Indefinite" Suspension Will Last At Least 3 More Weeks And Translates To Just 12 Games Overall

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As soon as Draymond Green punched Jusuf Nurkic in the face, the entire basketball world was curious about what this would mean for his pending suspension. Given his priors and the fact that he was just suspended for 5 games a month ago for something like this, you knew the NBA wasn't going to let him off the hook this time.

Then it came out that Draymond was suspended "indefinitely", but that didn't really answer this question. What did "indefinitely" even mean? 

Now a week later, we finally have some clarity when it comes to a perspective timetable for Draymond's return

League sources said Green, 33, was expected to receive counseling and work with the Warriors and NBA while suspended. People around Green and the organization said the four-time NBA champion has been understanding and prepared to undergo the process required to return to the team in a full capacity. Those sources would not reveal the specifics of Green’s counseling out of respect for his privacy.

A three-week timeframe would mean his suspension stretches approximately 12 games.

What do those 12 games look like?

So far, the Warriors are 2-1 in games without Draymond since the punch,

For a team that is currently 12-14, an additional 9 game absence with that slate of games could very well cook the Warriors season. Let's be optimistic and say they finish around .500 during that stretch. If GS gets to mid January and is say, 17-21, it's entirely possible that they've dug themselves too deep a hole. As things stand today, they already trail PHX by 2 games for the 10th seed in the West. I suppose the good news is the majority of these games are at home, but then you remember the Warriors are only 6-6 in their own building to start the season, and they're also just 8-14 against teams .500 or better this year. Given the fact that of those 12 games 7 are against teams over .500, things could snowball rather quickly.

Now of course, just because Green may be eligible to return after this 3 week/12 game stint doesn't guarantee the NBA feels like he's done enough to return. I'm not going to pretend to know what the boxes are that Draymond has to check, and for all I know 3 weeks of therapy will make real progress, but what if it doesn't? If Draymond misses his 12 games, gets the help he needs and then is right back to pulling this shit come January, what then? Does he get suspended for the season? If we're 2x his suspension with every incident, are we looking at 20+ games? 

If Draymond is truly back in 3 weeks/12 games, I think it's fair to question how serious the NBA is truly taking this suspension. That is a little quick on the surface. If you're someone who thinks this total should be closer to 20+ games, I can see your point. Again, Ja Morant got 25 for what he did as his second offense after being suspended for the same thing, and Draymond literally punched a player as his 2nd offense after already being suspended for choking a player out. Those two things don't really add up to me.