Golden State head coach Steve Kerr and former Warriors star Kevin Durant have offered support to Draymond Green after he was suspended indefinitely.

Green was served with a ban by the NBA after striking Phoenix Suns player Jusuf Nurkic in the face.

He was ejected from a game for the third time this season as the Warriors lost 119-116 on Tuesday.

“To me, this is about more than basketball. It’s about helping Draymond,” Kerr said.

“It’s an opportunity for Draymond to step away and to make a change in his approach, in his life. And that’s not an easy thing to do.”

Last month Green was given a five-game ban for putting Minnesota Timberwolves centre Rudy Gobert in a headlock, while he was also ejected for two technical fouls against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The referees reviewed the incident with Nurkic and ruled it a flagrant foul 2, which leads to an automatic ejection.

Kerr said: “The answer is to help Draymond and give him the help he needs, give him the opportunity to make a change that will not only help him and help our team, but help him for the rest of his life.

“It’s not just about an outburst on the court. This is about his life. Look at the past year and what’s happened – it’s clear he needs the opportunity to change. And that’s what an indefinite suspension gives him the opportunity for.”

Phoenix Suns forward Durant played with Green for the Warriors between 2016 and 2019 and the pair, while team-mates, were involved in an altercation after suffering an overtime defeat against the Los Angeles Clippers in 2018. Green was subsequently handed a one-game suspension for his actions.

Durant said: “I hope Draymond gets the help he needs. It’s been incident after incident.

“Hopefully, he gets the help he needs to get back on the court and put all this stuff behind him.”