by Whether verbal or physical, fights between teammates come with the territory of sports at any level, from pee-wee to professional. However, there is a level of respect that must be maintained and the line is different for each group. It’s clear that Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green crossed that line when he got into a physical altercation with teammate Jordan Poole during practice Wednesday, the team confirmed Thursday.
Known for his fiery, passionate disposition, the 32-year-old Green has been involved in several mid-game verbal altercations with teammates that have been caught on camera during his tenure with the Warriors, not to mention his practice reputation. But he crossed the line Wednesday when things got physical and will face discipline from the Warriors.
Stephen Curry, head coach Steve Kerr and general manager Bob Myers spoke about the incident Thursday, and here’s a breakdown of the details they shared.
He leaked video of the incident
An initial report of the altercation said Green “brutally struck” Poole during a heated argument. On Friday morning, video of the incident was leaked by TMZ, showing Green throwing a full punch, which appeared to hit Poole in the face and knock him to the floor. Green approached Poole from the edge of the practice field, chest-bumping him, and Poole responded by shoving Greene, just before Greene threw the punch.
Poole was not seriously injured
Poole reportedly took part in shooting drills after the incident on Wednesday and trained fully on Thursday. He didn’t appear to be seriously injured by the punch and likely won’t miss any time.
Green apologized
Myers said Green apologized to the team Thursday for his behavior.
“It’s the NBA. It’s professional sports. These things happen. Nobody likes it. We don’t condone it, but it happened,” Myers said. “Draymond apologized to the team this morning. Jordan was there in the room. I was there in the room. The team, the coaches, the players and we heard that.”
Discipline will be handled internally
Both Myers and Kerr said any disciplinary action against Green would be handled internally, and Kerr said Green was not at practice Thursday and will not attend practice Friday. Kerr expects Green to return to practice on Saturday.
“As far as any suspension, punishment, fine, we’ll handle that internally,” Myers said. “This will be an internal process.”
“As a coach, whenever something happens, we try to handle things internally,” Kerr said. “[Green] I didn’t train today, I won’t be here tomorrow. I expect him to come back on Saturday and get back to it.”
The Warriors deny the report about Poole’s attitude
Following the news of the altercation between Green and Poole on Wednesday, a tweet from Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports suggested the incident could have stemmed from a change in Poole’s attitude as he negotiated a potential extension with the Warriors. Kerr, Myers and Curry vehemently denied the report, saying Poole has been great during camp so far.
“That particular tweet that came out yesterday implying that JP’s attitude or anything has changed since he’s been in this training camp or even what time they’re talking. It’s complete BS,” Curry said. “Man [Iguodala] he addressed it yesterday with his tweet, and we can leave it at that. JP was great.”
“Jordan has been fantastic all camp,” Kerr said. “There was a report I was made aware of last night that someone said there that Jordan had a camp stop — nothing could be further from the truth. He was fantastic. So, disappointing to see misinformation out there, but I wanted to make sure I set the record straight on it.”
“Some of it, I would say from my point of view, I don’t feel — and more importantly you have to ask the players you talk to — I don’t think it’s related to who gets paid and who doesn’t,” he said. Myers. “I don’t feel that. Draw your own conclusions. It’s probably more important what the players think about it than what I think, but I don’t see it.”
Myers expressed Green’s frustration
After the incident, Myers said he spoke with Green and expressed his disappointment, but was optimistic that Green and the team could work through it.
“Draymond is one of my favorite players,” Myers said. “I told him that, but I just said, ‘You’re better than this. Do not do that. Don’t do this to yourself. Don’t put yourself in that position”. You still love the person. Don’t love what they did, but you still love the man.
“He’s complicated, but he’s a good man. He’s a good man. He is. I’ve seen it. I’ve seen a lot of things he’s done. Yesterday was not one of them. In this job that I” I’m in, these are men. He knows what he has to do. He needs to make amends, and he started with it this morning. I’m sure he will.”
Warriors who want to advance
Curry and Myers both said they believe the team will be able to overcome the incident with relative ease. They have faced other situations in the past, most notably her oncourt blowout between Green and Kevin Durant in 2018; that led to Green’s suspension, and Myers believes it makes them better equipped to deal with the current situation.
“It’s one of the best vibes we’ve had in my 12 years here, as far as camp and health and mental health and camaraderie,” Myers said. “But, it’s unfortunate, and I won’t deny it. It’s going to take some time to get over it, but we’ll get through it and move on. And I’m sure we will. We’ve got a good team, we’ve got good leadership. We’ve got some guys that it’s been here a long time. And this isn’t the first thing that’s happened, our first sense of adversity. We’ve been through some of this in the past. I don’t like going through it, but it’s part of the NBA and it’s part of sports and that’s just the way it is.” .
“The atmosphere today at practice was great,” Curry said Thursday. “I’m trying to take advantage of this week and focus on basketball, our preseason. It’s obviously an unfortunate situation that — you know, when I’m asked about it — a situation that could have been avoided, but there’s a lot we trust the fabric of our team, who we are, who we know these two guys are and how we’re going to get through it and try to continue to play great basketball. Personal dynamics and things will work themselves out, and that’s part, again , of the culture we’ve built here. I like how we responded today. We had a great practice, good energy. Try to keep that as a focus as we move forward.”
Give the Warriors credit for tackling the issue head on. They could have easily declined to discuss the situation, but they provided some clarity and insight into the team’s headspace following the incident. For now, it looks like everyone is ready to move on, but we’ll have to keep an eye on the situation as the Warriors prepare to begin their title defense, starting with NBA opening night on Oct. 18 against the Los Angeles Lakers.
