Sources: Green in virtual meetings to chart return

Beyond individual counseling sessions, suspended Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green is participating in periodic virtual meetings designed to chart his progress toward reinstatement that include team, league and union officials, sources told ESPN.

These Zoom meetings are playing a role in how the NBA, National Basketball Players Association and the Warriors measure Green’s progress toward working through whatever issues might have contributed to repeated violent episodes with opponents and a former teammate, sources said. Green — a four-time champion and two-time All-NBA player — has been described as open and engaged in the aftermath of the league-imposed indefinite suspension on Dec. 13.

Green’s agent, Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul, Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr., team trainer Rick Celebrini, NBPA and NBA officials are part of these ongoing sessions, sources said.

These meetings are a part of what the NBA described as “certain league and team conditions” that Green must fulfill before his suspension is lifted for throwing a punch at Phoenix’s Jusuf Nurkic on Dec. 12. The NBA, NBPA, the Warriors and Green played roles in curating this unique, open-ended suspension, but the NBA has the final say on Green’s eventual return. The league proposed this idea after successive violent encounters in November against Minnesota’s Rudy Gobert and against Nurkic.

Green is allowed to condition and practice with the Warriors, but it is unlikely he returns to the team facility on a regular basis before early January, sources said. Among those involved in this process, there’s a general belief that his suspension will cover a range of 11 to 13 games — barring any setbacks.

The Warriors will play their seventh consecutive game without Green against the Denver Nuggets on Monday — a stretch that includes five straight victories.

In the first season of a four-year, $100 million contract, Green is losing $153,941 for every game he is suspended. After the first five games of the suspension, Green became eligible to be moved to the suspended list, allowing the Warriors to sign a replacement player. So far, the team has shown no inclination to do that.

Green, 33, has been ejected three times this season, including against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Nov. 11 for two technical fouls. The NBA has suspended Green six times in his career, and the Warriors exiled Green in the preseason a year ago after he connected on a punch with former teammate Jordan Poole.

Alongside Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, Green has been a cornerstone player in the Warriors’ dynasty. He was an All-NBA performer in 2016 and 2017 and Defensive Player of the Year in 2017.