Draymond Green return date: Warriors star forward’s probable return & more explored

After being suspended from the NBA for nearly a month, it appears Draymond Green is finally making his return to the Golden State Warriors. Prominent NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski recently reported that Green is expected to be with the Warriors on Sunday when they face the Toronto Raptors. He won't be playing against Toronto but he will be sitting on the bench with his team.

Adrian Wojnarowski also reported that Draymond Green will need a week to ramp up to brush off some court rust before playing on the hardwood again. That means Green could fully return to the lineup either next Saturday against the Chicago Bulls or next Sunday against the Milwaukee Bucks. Draymond's return is timely considering how the Warriors need to win more games to climb up the ranks.

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Will Draymond Green's counseling help him reform as a player?

Golden State Warriors v Phoenix Suns

Draymond Green smashed Jusuf Nurkic's face during a game between the Golden State Warriors and the Phoenix Suns in mid-December. As a result, Green was suspended indefinitely by NBA Executive Vice President and Head of Basketball Operations Joe Dumars. Green's previous incidences of unsportsmanlike behavior were also taken into account in the decision.

After Green received his suspension, the league insisted he took counseling sessions to improve his foul behavior. Throughout Draymond's career, he has become one the most notorious figures who has a bad reputation for getting inappropriately physical with other players. Instead of playing honest defense, Green tends to be extra and unnecessarily hurts others during certain sequences.

Now that he has an expected return date, many fans could be wondering what version of Draymond Green we could see. While it's possible that we could see a new and improved Green in terms of behavior, it's also not entirely out of the question if he remains the same player he was before getting suspended by the association.

However, based on how the association suspended him last month, he could receive a Ja Morant type of treatment with his demeanor. Meaning to say, if Green continues to act the way he did in the past, it's more than likely that Adam Silver could severely punish the four-time champion and suspend him for several months instead of several weeks.

With that said, moving forward, whatever Green has picked up from his counseling sessions during his suspension, it's best if he sticks to his guidance counselor's teachings before he ends up putting himself in another sticky situation. As of the moment, the Golden State Warriors are in need of their elite defender to help them regain a winning record before the All-Star break.

The Warriors currently have a 17-18 record and are ranked 10th in the Western Conference. They are currently 3.5 games behind the Sacramento Kings and Dallas Mavericks who are ranked fifth and sixth in the West. Having Draymond Green back in the lineup could help Golden State climb the ranks and win more games.