Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) reacts during the second quarter of Game 4 of basketball's NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics, Friday, June 10, 2022, in Boston. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)AP
A new layer was added to the Draymond Green altercation with Jordan Poole from Warriors practice this week after video of the incident was leaked by TMZ on Friday.
In the footage, Green is seen walking up to Poole and making contact with Poole’s chest during a practice drill. Poole responds to the close contact with a shove of Green and the veteran forward wasted no time with a sharp retaliation, throwing a punch that brought Poole to the floor. Green begins to stand over Poole before the two sides are separated as the video cuts out.
Warriors general manager Bob Myers addressed the incident at Thursday’s practice, indicating that he did not expect Green to miss any games due to a potential suspension from the team.
“These things happen. Nobody likes it, we don’t condone it, but it happens,” Myers told reporters. “Draymond apologized to the team. Jordan was there in the room. ... As far as any suspension, punishment, fine, we will handle that internally.”
The leak of the layer adds an extra layer of complexity to an already challenging situation for the Warriors just weeks away from the start of the regular season.
Who leaked the tape? The Warriors obviously preferred to handle this situation internally but a leak of the footage puts the incident more in the public eye for everyone to judge. Most NBA teams regularly have guests watch practice (agents, guest coaches, trainers, etc.) so it’s very possible that this footage became from someone outside the organization. However, the motive must be considered now somewhat by the team. Did someone from the team or Poole’s camp want it out there because they weren’t happy with how the team was handling Green’s discipline for the incident? It would be hard to blame them given how out of line Green looked here.
Does the video going public change the Warriors discipline for Green? Myers made clear that the team was not expected to give Green a suspension involving games before the footage became public on Friday morning. Now that declaration looks questionable with how bad this footage looks from a Green viewpoint. It’s obvious that Draymond has earned a longer leash with Golden State given his tenure there and coming off the heels of a title but letting him off with just a slap on the wrist for this type of violence may be deferring to him a little too much. The microscope will be squarely on the team’s brass for whether they cave to the pressure or stick to their original statement.
Does the leak impact the Warriors this season? With the defending champions in potential turmoil, several teams around the league, including the Celtics will be keeping a close eye on how this situation progresses since it’s been aired out in the public eye. Golden State has a lot of proven talent and leaders that can bring this group together but dissention involving Green (see: Kevin Durant) has cost this team before. As Green enters his 30s and his value as a player is on the decline, it’s fair to wonder how much damage these antics have caused with Poole and whether the Warriors will put up with them for much longer.
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