NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has spoken out about the conversation he had with Draymond Green that made him reconsider retirement.
Green recently revealed that during his 12-game suspension for striking Suns center Jusuf Nurkic, he spoke with Silver about retiring, but Silver talked him out of it.
Adam Silver was asked about the conversation by the media Thursday before the Cleveland Cavaliers-Brooklyn Nets game in Paris.
He remained pretty tight lipped about the finer details of the conversation, though he certainly didn’t deny talking Draymond out of retiring.
“In terms of Draymond, at the time we were having those conversations, certainly from my standpoint, they’re private,” Silver told reporters. “That’s his right, if he chooses to make them public. There was certainly no agreement that we had that everything was private, but I’ll leave it to him to comment on what we discussed.
“I would be speaking up if he were saying something that wasn’t consistent with our discussions. I would just conclude by saying I’m pleased he’s close to being back. And my sense is that he used his time away from the floor very productively.”
Green was required to undergo individual counseling sessions and periodic virtual meetings that included team, league and union officials before he was reinstated by the NBA on January 6.
The four-time champion spoke to the media on Tuesday and explained that he was grateful that the suspension was indefinite, as it allowed him to improve and reflect.
“A part of the ‘indefinite’ in returning is being in a better space,” Green said. “To allow my mind to process what it looks like getting in a better space, I think you’re then able to sit with those thoughts … It allowed me to come to some realizations that I needed and wanted to come to.”