Draymond Green Suspended Indefinitely

Scott Allen
Scott Allen, ContributorDecember 14, 2023
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Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green has been suspended by the NBA indefinitely for his most recent on-court actions in which he struck Jusuf Nurkic of the Phoenix Suns in the face during the Golden State-Phoenix game on December 12th. This suspension comes after Green had been suspended for five games for similar conduct during a game in November in which he put Rudy Gobert of the Minnesota Timberwolves in a chokehold.

What does indefinitely mean?

The indefinite suspension by the NBA means that Draymond Green is going to have to prove that he is worthy of returning to play based on his current and past conduct. It will most likely mean that Green will need to go through some form of counseling amongst other requirements that must be met.

More recently, Ja Morant was suspended indefinitely by the leave in June 2023 for his off-court conduct, which led to a total of 25 games suspended after further review of the incident. Morant is on track to rejoin the Memphis Grizzlies in the coming weeks.

How much does a suspension cost Draymond Green?

The NBA CBA dictates that for a suspension with 19 or fewer games a player will lose 1/145 of his salary for each game missed, while a suspension of 20 or more games a player will lose 1/110 of his salary for each game missed. 

In Draymond Green’s case, we currently do not know who many games he’ll be suspended for, so his situation will be a bit more fluid until an official amount is determined. Green currently has a salary of $22,321,429 and therefore stands to lose $153,941 per game for 19 or fewer games or $202,922 per game for 20 more or games.

How does this affect the Warriors cap sheet? 

It doesn’t. Draymond Green’s cap salary remains untouched at $22,321,429.

How does this affect the Warriors luxury tax situation?

Draymond Green was suspended by the NBA and not by the Golden State Warriors which makes a difference. If Green were to have been suspended by the Warriors, his salary for luxury tax purposes would remain untouched; however, since he was suspended by the NBA the Warriors stand to further save on their luxury tax bill with each game Green is suspended.

Whatever the amount a player is to lose due to a suspension, in Green’s case $153,941 per game or $202,922 per game, the total amount loss is cut in half and that amount is deducted from the luxury tax salary. For example, if Green were to be suspended 10 games (at the 1/145th tier) in total for this infraction/suspension he would lose $1,539,410 in actual salary which would equate to his luxury tax salary being reduced by $769,705. Furthermore, if Green were to be suspended 20 games (at the 1/110th tier) he would lose $4,058,440 in actual salary which would equate to his luxury tax salary being reduced by $2,029,220.

How does this help the Warriors estimated Luxury Tax bill?

At the time of Draymond Green’s first five game suspension the Warriors estimated luxury tax bill was $195.1 million. That suspension already saved Golden State more than $2.5 million in taxes. With an indefinite suspension, the Warriors stand to have even more substantial tax savings depending on the amount of games Green is to miss. 

Where the Warriors currently stand on Dec 14th, 2023:

At $207.89 million of taxable salaries the Warriors current estimated tax bill is just over $192.5 million.

If Draymond Green is suspended at most 19 games:

The estimated luxury tax bill will drop by nearly $9.87 million which would equate to a minimum of $519,551 in tax bill savings per game suspended.

If Draymond Green is suspended 20 games:

This is significant because the reduced luxury tax salary amount goes from $153,941 to $202,922 per game missed, and one additional game would drop the tax bill by $3.8 million. 

If Draymond Green is suspended 26 games:

This is significant due to the fact that this drops the Warriors out of the $6.75 tier for every $1 over that tiered threshold. 

If Draymond Green is suspended for the remainder of the season (59 games):

We’re not saying this will happen, but if for some reason Draymond Green was suspended for the remainder of the season (and Golden State did not add any other players to the roster, which is unlikely given roster needs if Green was out for the rest of the season) the Warriors would be looking at potentially $38.7 million in luxury tax savings. 

 


#nba #suspension #draymond green #draymond green #golden state warriors #golden state warriors
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