Draymond Green has been fined $50,000 for his actions in Game 3 of the Western Conference Semifinals between the Golden State Warriors and Minnesota Timberwolves.
But according to NBA legend Charles Oakley, that punishment is not harsh enough.
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Green was fined for making an ‘inappropriate comment that questions the integrity of game officials’ during Golden State’s 102-97 loss to Minnesota on May 10 at Chase Center.
The 35-year-old fouled out with 4:38 remaining and the Warriors trailing by just two points, and ESPN reported that he then referred to the 5.5 point spread on sportsbooks.
Cameras caught Green on the sideline appearing to mouth, ‘Five and a half, I know what y’all doing’ with the Wolves leading 102-94 with 15.2 seconds to play.
That comment could easily be construed as the NBA star accusing the refs of throwing the game for gambling purposes.
Golden State took two 3-pointers after that timeout, and Jonathan Kuminga hit with five seconds remaining to make the final score 102-97.
While the punishment will leave a hole Green’s wallet, Oakley has suggested he would’ve kicked the star out the game long before the comment was made if he was an official.
“Everybody loves Draymond… but he does something every time,” the basketball icon told Shannon Sharpe and Chad Johnson on the Nightcap podcast.
“They aren’t calling this because you’re Draymond, they’re calling this because you did something.
“They really give you a break, and you still holla and cuss the official.
“If I was an official, Draymond would be out of the game by the third time down the court.
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“He’d be out of the game.”
Sharpe, laughing, added that Green acts the way he does with officials because ‘he knows once he gets one, they will be very reluctant to give him a second tech and throw him out of the game’.
“They don’t want to influence the game,” he said.
Oakley then joked: “I wouldn’t be worried about influencing the game, I wouldn’t let somebody cuss me out while averaging six or seven points a game!
“Draymond’s got to get a triple double (to do that).”
Green, who earlier month launched a passionate defence over the ‘agenda’ about him, is not the first player to be fined under these circumstances.
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Timberwolves star Rudy Gobert — a long time rival of Green — made a money gesture with his fingers last season after fouling out of a game against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
He was fined $100,000 for a combination of his gesture and the comments he made afterwards, in which he suggested betting is ‘hurting’ basketball.
Following his own latest incident, Green has been fined a total of $992,000 over the course of his career, with $185,000 of that coming for actions toward officials.
He also has been docked $3.2million for suspensions.
While the veteran returned for Game 4 and Game 5 against Minnesota in this year’s series, he was unable to inspire the Warriors to victory.
Golden State’s season ended on Wednesday night, after they lost four in a row to crash out of the playoffs.
Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle combined for 51 points as the duo led the Timberwolves to a 121-110 win.
While Minnesota move on to the Western Conference Finals, the Warriors are now set for another important offseason as they look to build a championship contending team around their ageing core of Green, Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler.
