Golden State Warriors Forward Draymond Green entered the NBA All-Star break among the league leaders in a statistic he’d surely rather not be associated with, that statistic being technical fouls. Green has shown a penchant for being hit with a “T” during his NBA career, with his yearly totals as follows:
2012-13: 2
2013-14: 6
2014-15: 11
2015-16: 13
2016-17: 15
2017-18: 15
2018-19: 13
Total (so far): 75
Given reaching the magic number of 16 equates to an automatic suspension for one game, after having flirted with reaching 16 technical fouls the past two years, Green seems poised to be on his way to exceeding that number this year … not exactly what Golden State Warriors fans would like to hear. The technical fouls Green is being assessed also come with a financial penalty, with the fine for each of the first five technical fouls being $2,000, increasing incrementally by a thousand dollars until the 16th technical foul, when the fine is $5,000 along with the aforementioned one-game suspension. A player is then fined another $5,000 if he receives a 17th technical foul.
With his total of 13 technical fouls so far, Green has been hit with a whopping $62,000 in fines associated for said technical fouls. I’m guessing he’s not having to recycle aluminum cans to pay this debt given he is in the midst of an $82M contract he signed prior to the 2015 season. Nevertheless, no one wants to throw money away, at least I certainly don’t. Additionally, losing the services of one of your top players is certainly not welcomed by the organization.
During the 2016 NBA Finals, Golden State was leading the Cleveland Cavaliers 3-0, when during Game 4, Green and Cavaliers superstar LeBron James were involved in an altercation. This led to a one-game suspension for Green, and opened the door for the Cavaliers, as James led them to four consecutive victories, culminating with a victory in Game 7, earning Cleveland’s first sports championship of any kind in 52 years.
After having won an NBA record 73 games during the regular season, and entering the postseason as overwhelming favorites to claim what would have been their second consecutive title, the Warriors were left wondering what could have been. Many point to the suspension of Draymond Green as the beginning of the end for Golden State and their ultimate series defeat.
During a solid NBA career, now retired former All-Star Rasheed Wallace achieved many accolades, one of which came when he helped the Detroit Pistons defeat the Shaquille O’Neal/Kobe Bryant led Los Angeles Lakers four games to one in the 2004 NBA Finals. In addition to this and other on-court triumphs, Wallace has the distinction of having been assessed the most technical fouls in a single season with 41, as well as having retired with the most technical fouls “earned” in a career with 317, taking the title away from Hall of Fame Forward Dennis Rodman.
Unless he makes a drastic change, at this rate, Draymond Green would, unfortunately for him (and his bank account), shatter that record with an unthinkable total of technical fouls. Given that his reputation precedes him, Green will most likely garner little, if any leeway from officials going forward. Be it a legitimate infraction, or something that falls in that sketchy gray area, he will probably not receive the benefit of the doubt. This will possibly lead to him being hit with more technical fouls than he should receive.
On the other hand, we may see a different Draymond Green. As of this writing, Green recently asked his girlfriend for her hand in marriage … with a $300,000 engagement ring! Given a new sheriff, er voice (his wife’s) will have significant input regarding his finances, perhaps we’ll see a change which will lead to the number of technical fouls Green sees coming his way decrease. If not, and if he continues to accrue them as he has thus far, as far as the NBA is concerned, he’ll be an ATM that continues to provide withdrawals, earning him the unwelcomed moniker of Draymond Green – Tech Machine.