Draymond Green suspension: Warriors star forward's probable return & more explored

Draymond Green has continued to be absent from the Golden State Warriors bench as he works his way back from an indefinite suspension last year. After landing himself in hot water and serving a five-game suspension for choking Rudy Gobert, Green was in the hot seat again last month.

To close out 2023, the Warriors star was suspended for hitting Jusuf Nurkic in the face.

While his latest suspension has been labeled indefinite, reports indicate that Green is nearing a big return.

NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski shared an update on Green's suspension on X (formerly Twitter).

"Golden State’s Draymond Green — on an indefinite league suspension since Dec. 13 — is expected to return to the Warriors’ facility in the coming days to start ramping up to resume play again, sources tell ESPN."

In addition to the fact that the altercation with Nurkic was Green's second of the season, it was also his fourth suspension of 2023. Green also served a suspension for his 16th technical foul in the 2022-23 season.

Then, during the playoffs, he was suspended once more when he stomped on Domantas Sabonis' chest, hindering the Warriors in the playoffs.

Looking at potential games for Draymond Green to make his return

While Adrian Wojnarowski didn't provide a tentative date for Draymond Green's return, we can get an idea of Green's return using the team's calendar. Around the time of his initial suspension, Shams Charania and other outlets reported that Green would miss at least three weeks.

Using that timeline, the earliest Green could return would be on January 8. However, that would give him just a few days to ramp up, as Woj's report suggests. The Golden State Warriors are set to compete against the Denver Nuggets on Thursday in a pivotal inter-conference rivalry.

The following day, they face the Detroit Pistons and then the Toronto Raptors on Sunday. This brings us to Monday, January 8. However, the Warriors don't play again until January 10, when they meet the New Orleans Pelicans.

This seems like the most likely date for Draymond Green's return using the initial timeline provided. With that said, if he winds up remaining on the sidelines and continuing to ramp up, the next targeted date for his return would be January 12, when the Warriors play the Chicago Bulls.