Calling it "an error in judgment," Golden State Warriors forward Jordan Bell apologized Friday after he was suspended by the team Wednesday for "conduct detrimental to the team."
Bell did not play in Golden State's Wednesday road game against the Memphis Grizzlies. The team did not provide details about the transgression while making the announcement of his suspension.
After the team's shootaround Friday, Bell spoke with NBC Sports Bay Area.
"I made an error of judgment," he said. "And I thought I was doing something funny, and it wasn't. But I apologized to the individuals involved, and I hope to continue to move forward from this mistake."
A report in The Athletic might have shed some light on the incident, noting that Bell was charging incidentals to the Memphis hotel room of assistant coach Mike Brown. The Athletic reported that this wasn't Bell's first incident and that Brown was made aware of the purchase.
On Friday, Warriors teammate Shaun Livingston offered his support for Bell.
"I haven't talked to him in detail, but I've shared some words with him, and again it's just making sure that he still is supported on this team," Livingston said, according to ESPN.com. "You go through something, you might feel isolated, but it's also up to him to build trust and make sure that he gets back into a place to where he was before.
"You don't want to be on a team where you're not trusted. You want to be on a team where you can build -- where people trust you."
Bell was appreciative of the show of support during his interview with NBC Sports Bay Area.
"It was dope to know they're on your side," Bell said of his teammates. "Like I said, everybody kind of crucifies you when they hear about a story that has a big gap or a story that leaves a big gap. It just leaves people's minds to wonder, so it was dope your teammates have your back and joke about it, and at the same time knowing at the end, if it comes down to it, they're going to defend you and have your back."
Bell, a second-year player out of Oregon, is averaging 3.0 points, 2.7 rebounds and 11.4 minutes in 61 games (two starts) this season.
He contributed 4.6 points and 3.6 rebounds per game in 57 contests (13 starts) as a rookie to help the Warriors win the NBA championship.
Golden State entered its Friday night road game against the Minnesota Timberwolves with a one-game lead over the second-place Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference standings.
--Field Level Media