Personally, I don’t object to Draymond Green’s behavior. Sports are about entertainment. As long as he’s not undermining players or attempting to injure them, I couldn’t care less if he grapples with Rudy Gobert in a scuffle.

When he struck Jusuf Nurkić during the Golden State Warriors’ recent game against the Phoenix Suns, I simply shook my head and chuckled. That incident somewhat made up for Kevin Durant’s absence, further delaying the debut of the Suns’ “Big Three.”

Green rightfully received a Flagrant 2 for his actions. He and Nurkić were jostling for position, and then he turned around and struck Nurkić on the side of the face. There’s no way to confirm if Green intended to hit him with a knife-edged chop. However, who behaves in that manner? In what way is that the appropriate response on a basketball court? If he was upset, a quick hand-slap and a stare-down typically convey the message.

Perhaps this rage towards Nurkić has been building up, similar to his possible feelings towards Gobert. There’s a slight chance that Green has been the bigger person and overlooked Nurkić’s unsportsmanlike conduct.

After conducting a quick YouTube search with both of their names less than half an hour after the incident, the only conflict that showed up was Green’s swing on Tuesday and Nurkić’s block when he still played for the Denver Nuggets. There were some individual incidents of Nurkić getting upset and, of course, reckless behavior by Green, but no prior altercations between the two.

Green, a 33-year-old with four championship rings and two $100 million contracts, is unlikely to change his ways regardless of the punishment. He received his second contract after punching a teammate. Maybe suspending Green for the rest of this season would send a message, but it could also make him even more defiant. However, the NBPA would likely oppose that punishment. He will probably be suspended until mid to late January. A message has to be conveyed, even if he will probably refuse to heed it.

The millennial NBA bully has fully embraced his role and has no reason to change. If Green wasn’t engaging in physical altercations, he wouldn’t have been featured in that In-Season Tournament commercial. Love him or loathe him, his actions always evoke strong reactions.

Social media can address Adam Silver all they want. Green is a fully grown adult who will continue to engage in the behavior that has earned him a living. The only way to stop Green would be to banish him, and he has not come close to deserving that punishment.

All that the NBA can do is gradually reduce his earnings and ensure to coordinate with his publicist the next time he is needed for a commercial.