Draymond Green said he can afford a fine for flipping off fans because he makes $25 million a year
- Draymond Green flipped off Memphis fans who booed him while he bled after an elbow to the face.
- After the game, Green said he could afford the impending NBA fine because he makes $25 million a year.
Draymond Green isn't sweating pending punishment from the NBA for flipping off fans in Memphis.
In the first quarter of Game 2 in the Western Conference semifinals between the Golden State Warriors and Memphis Grizzlies, Green took an elbow to the eye and fell to the ground.
Play continued, and as Green got up, Memphis fans booed and heckled Green, who was bleeding from the cut near his eye. According to ESPN's Kendra Andrews, Green flipped off several fans as he walked back to the locker room to get stitches.
Earlier in the playoffs, Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving was fined $50,000 for the same action, and Green is likely to face a similar face. After the game, however, Green defended himself and said he makes enough money to cover the fine.
"You gonna boo someone who was elbowed in the eye and face is running with blood, you should get flipped off," Green said, according to Andrews. "I'll take the fine. I'll do an appearance and make up the money. It felt really good to flip them off."
He added: "If they are going to be that nasty, I will be nasty too. I'm assuming the cheers were because they know I'll be fined. Great — I make $25 million a year. I should be just fine."
Indeed, according to Spotrac, Green has a salary worth $25.8 million this year, the third year of a four-year, $99.6 million contract.
Green has become the No. 1 villain in Memphis after he was ejected in Game 1 for a flagrant foul on Grizzlies big man Brandon Clarke. Many fans and analysts disagreed with the call, and Green later said it was based on "reputation" rather than the severity of the foul.
Green's dust-up in Game 2 was just one incident in a hostile, physical first quarter.
Moments earlier, Grizzlies guard Dillon Brooks swiped at Warriors guard Gary Payton as Payton was in midair to finish a layup. Brooks made contact with Payton's head, sending him crashing to the ground.
He landed awkwardly, breaking his elbow in the process.
Brooks was ejected from the game, and according to Andrews, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr could be heard yelling, "Get the fuck out of here, Brooks!"
After the game, Kerr called the play "dirty," regardless of Brooks' intentions.
"I don't know if it was intentional, but it was dirty," Kerr said. "There is a code. This code that players follow where you never put a guy's season [or] career in jeopardy by taking somebody out in midair and clubbing him across the head, ultimately fracturing Gary's elbow ... He broke the code. Dillon Brooks broke the code."
The Grizzlies went on to win Game 2, thanks to 47 points and three clutch baskets from Ja Morant.
However, the Warriors return to San Francisco for Games 3 and 4 in decent shape. They took Game 1 in Memphis and nearly won Game 2 despite Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson combining to shoot 5-of-23 from three.