The Golden State Warriors season ended in calamity after a second-round exit at the hands of the Los Angeles Lakers in a troubled campaign that went south in the preseason.
Draymond Green was watching Lakers vs. Nuggets with Stephen A. Smith and opened up about how his preseason punch on Jordan Poole impacted the Warriors’ season.
“We’re not playing right now because when you speak about the foul and all the slippage we had on the road as a team, not being able to come together. None of those things happen if that (punching Poole) doesn’t happen because of the voice and departments I lead this team in, there was a ton of slippage due to me sitting back, not saying anything, me allowing that situation to play itself out and giving it time to heal. Why are you giving it time to heal? I would say by February I started to feel like myself again but guess what, there were five months of the season where slippage kept occurring. By February, if the slippage has been going on for that long, you are who you are. You built those habits, so try to correct them then. You may get a little better, we ended up in the second round of the playoffs, but not at a championship level.”
Draymond Green told me that he believes the Warriors would still be playing if it wasn’t for the incident between him and Jordan Pool pic.twitter.com/B9txJCl0OY
— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) May 17, 2023
The Warriors’ camaraderie seemed markedly different from last season, as the players played with poor body language and argued more than any other team in this dynastic era previously. Draymond being unable to hold his teammates accountable because he crossed the line with Poole definitely impacted them, but the problems that hurt their season seemed more deep-seated than just that.
An Unavoidable Shakeup In The Bay Area?
The Warriors cannot afford to run this core back next season. The coach already said that the team was maxed out as presently constructed, with changes needed in the summer.
The likely first move will be to move unhappy young players like Jonathan Kuminga and Jordan Poole away for more veteran players that will be willing to play their roles instead of agitating for more touches or minutes. Having a mature and veteran roster may be crucial for Golden State, and moving these pieces achieves that.
These moves could give the Warriors a fresh start next season, but with GM Bob Myers possibly on his way out, the uncertainty in Golden State will remain at a high level.
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