In the summer ahead of the 2022-23 NBA season, Draymond Green and Jordan Poole got into a heated altercation during a practice session. Words were exchanged between the two stars, and it ended with Green punching Poole in the face.
The altercation caused chemistry issues for the Warriors and ultimately resulted in the Golden State Warriors failing to defend their title in 2023. According to Ric Bucher of Fox Sports, Green tried to fix his relationship with Poole after the punch. However, Poole rejected all efforts from the veteran Warriors forward.
“Jordan was on a lot of players’ nerves way before that, including Klay and Steph,” Bucher said on 95.7 The Game. “And Draymond was finally the one who tipped the scale and went overboard. … After he did it, Draymond tried everything possible to remedy the situation, and Jordan would have none of it. I’m just looking at it as Jordan, you have an opportunity to learn and exceed Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors.”
He added: “You can’t get over this situation with Draymond when Draymond’s gonna be gone at some point, and this is gonna be yours. You couldn’t see the big picture and made sure that the elephant was still in the room.”
.@RicBucher had some interesting things to say about what happened before and after the Draymond/JP altercation 👀 pic.twitter.com/DNBheXVbst
— 95.7 The Game (@957thegame) July 5, 2023
Jordan Poole could have tried to mend his relationship with Green and the Warriors. Instead, he got traded to the Washington Wizards for Chris Paul after failing to see the bigger picture.
Poole is obviously still salty about Green’s punch. The 24-year-old instantly unfollowed Green on Instagram after getting traded.
He averaged 20.4 PPG, 2.7 RPG, and 4.5 APG in the 2022-23 NBA season. Can he elevate to the next level while playing in Washington? That remains a huge question.
Draymond Green Wasn’t The Only Person Who Had Issues With Jordan Poole
The Golden State Warriors always had elite team chemistry since the rise of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green. The Dubs maintained their chemistry even after the arrival of Kevin Durant in 2016.
But their trust in each other looked shaky following the fight between Green and Poole. Most believe that’s the only reason behind Poole getting traded from the franchise, but that’s not the full truth. Poole apparently wasn’t liked much by Curry and Thompson either, according to Logan Murdock.
“All the established guys had some version of a problem with Jordan Poole,” Murdock added. “Whether it was Klay ironically saying that Jordan doesn’t pass the ball enough and shoots too much. And then you have Draymond, who sees Jordan as this guy, is like: ‘Yeah, I did punch him. I did do all these things, but now I don’t have a voice within the locker room because of what happened just now.’ And he has spoken about that on his podcast.
“And then you have Steph who was like trying to bring all of this together and was like, ‘Man, I am behind you, Jordan, can you just get right so we can win?'”
The Warrior Nation will hope that the franchise can get back on its feet after trading Poole to the Wizards. The Warriors were eliminated in six games by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2023 Western Conference Semifinals. They will hope to win another NBA title in 2024 with the core of Curry, Thompson, and Green still intact.
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