Confused by Ruling, Kerr Insinuates Reputation Played Role in Draymond's Fine

OAKLAND -- Draymond Green's NBA past resurfaced on Friday and again on Sunday, biting him on both days.

The league announced Sunday that it was fining Green $25,000 for his part in a Friday-night skirmish with Wizards guard Bradley Beal, who took a $50,000 fine. Both players were ejected after their clash late in the second quarter.

That Beal appeared to be the aggressor on Friday was confirmed upon review of NBA discipline czar Kiki VanDeWeghe.

Still, Green, who frequently attracts the attention of the league office, was fined.

"We all saw the video," Green said quietly, with a measure of resignation, before the Warriors-Pistons game Sunday afternoon at Oracle Arena.

"I'm a little confused," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said during his pregame news conference. "I don't know how you get fined 25 grand for being attacked."

The clash unfolded late in the second quarter, seconds after Green blocked a shot from Beal and had a few words for the guard. Four seconds later, as Green boxed out Beal on a 3-point attempt by Washington forward Kelly Oubre Jr., Beal swung from behind Green and connected to his face.

Green turned and grabbed Beal around the chest area and began walking him backward. When they feel a few steps later, Beal landed on top of Green, by which time members of both teams were rushing into the scuffle.

Two Wizards players, Markieff Morris and Carrick Felix, received mandatory suspensions for leaving the bench, while Oubre was fined $15,000 for "aggressively entering the altercation."

Green was the only Warriors player to receive a measure of discipline.

"(There was) some curious stuff in there," Kerr said. "It looked to me like Oubre came out there running into the crowd and caused a lot more . . . Draymond was the one who was attacked in the first place. Seems like maybe those fines could have been reversed.

"But it's not my job, fortunately."

VanDeWeghe's wing of the NBA office has had a number of interactions with Green over the past several years, partly due to his fiery temperament and most famously when slapping him with a one-game suspension during the 2016 NBA Finals, which the Warriors lost in seven games to the Cavaliers.

Insofar as he was whacked twice -- once in the face and once in the pocketbook -- Green in some ways absorbed more pain than Beal, who initiated the scuffle, and surely was hit harder than Oubre, who charged into the scrum throwing punches.

"I don't know what I'm supposed to do if someone hits you twice," Green told ESPN on Friday. "Man, you're taught as a kid not to allow that. What was I supposed to do?"

While Beal was fined by the league for "initiating the incident," the NBA cited Green's fine was because he "continued the incident by confronting Beal and failing to disengage from him."

"It seemed like maybe there's some prior reputation involved," said Kerr, who had not yet spoken to VanDeWeghe.

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