Things got off to a heated start between the Warriors and Minnesota Timberwolves in their Tuesday night NBA In-Season Tournament clash at Chase Center, with a scuffle that resulted in several ejections and one headlock seen around the basketball world.
And now, as expected, the league is looking further into the incident, including Draymond Green's nine-second headlock on Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert during the scuffle, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Wednesday, citing sources. Per Wojnarowski, video review of the incident and interviews are expected to be completed for a ruling before Golden State's game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
Green is no stranger to on-court incidents and resulting punishment from the NBA. The Warriors veteran was suspended for Game 3 of the Warriors' opening-round playoff series against the Sacramento Kings last season for stomping on Domantas Sabonis' chest, and most recently was ejected from Saturday's game against the Cleveland Cavaliers after getting into it with Donovan Mitchell and receiving two technical fouls.
The incident Tuesday night began when Warriors guard Klay Thompson and Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels began grabbing and shoving each other back and forth down the court after Anthony Edwards missed a 3-point attempt.
As other players raced in to defend their respective teammate, Green held Gobert in a headlock while officials tried to separate the two teams. McDaniels ripped Thompson’s jersey, and after officials reviewed the play, McDaniels, Thompson and Green were ejected. Green also was assessed a Flagrant 2 foul.
Golden State Warriors
It remains to be seen if Green will be suspended for his actions, let alone how long the suspension would be. ESPN NBA analyst Jay Williams believes the Warriors forward could receive as much as a 10-game suspension.
“I think he’s going to get a 10-game suspension,” Williams told Mike Greenberg on Wednesday's "Get Up" episode. “His reputation precedes him. Two ejections in the past four games, but I got to tell you, that’s my kind of teammate. If I’m scrapping with somebody, Greeny, and somebody puts their hands on me, I want my teammate to come out of nowhere to put someone in a chokehold.”
With Warriors star Steph Curry on the mend from a knee injury, the last thing Dub Nation needs is another veteran out of the lineup for an extended period of time.