Dahntay Jones insists that his bump of Draymond Green during a postgame national TV interview Sunday was purely accidental.
Nevertheless, the NBA slapped Jones with a $10,000 fine Monday, which he plans to appeal.
LA Clippers head coach Doc Rivers mocked the punishment when addressing the press corps.
Per the LA Times:
“Some people like to draw attention to themselves and make themselves bigger than what it is,” Jones said of Green, who made comments critical of his Clippers counterpart after Jones brushed his arm while walking to the locker room. […] Jones called Green’s comments “a little bit immature. I would have just shrugged it off. … I apologize if I hurt his feelings.”
Jones said he would appeal the fine, in part because he did not look at Green or try to engage him in any manner. […] “We never got into it, we never exchanged any words,” Jones said. “We never exchanged any glances. We never ran into each other. I don’t even know him as an individual, so there’s no bad blood. Somebody had a good game and wanted a little bit more attention.”
Rivers was incredulous when he watched replay footage later in the day. […] “Wow, that was such a violent bump!” Rivers deadpanned. “I’m telling you. It was amazing. I told Dahntay, ‘You’ve got to be careful. That was too hard.’ I guess that tough guy at Golden State, I mean, I think the bump was too hard for him, clearly, the way he reacted.”
