Draymond Green on the short suspensions for Saturday’s fight: “That was garbage”

Draymond Green understands that life isn’t fair, and things aren’t always equal. And for him, that was on display in the first weekend of the 2018-19 NBA season.

In case you missed it, an ugly brawl broke out on Saturday night in a nationally-televised game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Houston Rockets. Brandon Ingram started things off by shoving James Harden, and then getting in the face of a referee.

That led to a heated exchange between Chris Paul and Rajon Rondo, which quickly escalated. Rondo appeared to spit in Paul’s face, who retaliated by putting his finger in Rondo’s face. Punches were then thrown, with Ingram rushing back into the scene to throw a haymaker sucker punch.

It was wild, and equal parts disheartening and entertaining.

When the dust was settled, three suspensions were divvied out: Four games for Ingram, three for Rondo, and two for Paul.

That didn’t sit incredibly well with Green. In a conversation with the Bay Area News Group, Green supported his fellow players but admitted that it wasn’t in line with the way the league has treated him.

“It seems like a little bit of a double standard going around this thing. That’s just me, though. ... That was garbage. I’m never in favor of guys losing money. But I got suspended in the NBA Finals for attempting to punch somebody. ... I attempted to punch somebody, and not in the face, either.”

While Green didn’t directly say it, the insinuation seems to be that, had he played a similar role in the fight, his suspension would have been longer. I would certainly agree with that; and while on the one hand reputation justifiably plays a factor in these suspensions, it’s not like Rondo or Paul have pristine reputations with such matters.

Green did admit to enjoying watching the brawl (who didn’t?), but let’s hope we don’t get to find out how the league would react to him being involved in a fight.