The Golden State Warriors season ended in disappointment after they lost against the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Semifinals. Draymond Green was among those that didn’t play as well as he should have, although Jordan Poole was the biggest disappointment.
This season began inauspiciously for the Warriors, with the video of Green punching Poole going viral. And while he got backlash for it, and Poole’s form suffered this season, Draymond’s former teammate, Patrick McCaw defended him and explained why it happened.
“I was surprised by it. Draymond probably gets the worst rap,” McCaw said during an interview with NBA Buzz. “It’s because of the passion that he cares about the game for. It’s more than just the game he cares about, he cares if his teammates are as passionate as him.
“You don’t have to play with that energy, you don’t have to yell and scream like he does, but he wants to make sure you’re on the same page as him. Like, ‘Do you care about it as much as I do?’ Once he senses maybe that feeling that you don’t care as much or not playing up to your potential, he’s gonna almost instantly get on you about it.
“And of course, the way he probably goes about it isn’t the best, but you probably get the point faster when somebody yells or screams or gets in your chest… He gets a bad rap for how he does it, but you can’t really take that away from him. That’s who he is. The energy, the effort, it’s every night. The passion: that’s the misinterpretation for people. How he does it and how he expresses it. For him, it works.”
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Draymond Green is unique, but his personality and dedication are what have led to him becoming such a core piece of a championship team. And while it manifested itself with Jordan Poole, it does seem like his former teammates aren’t too surprised by it.
Draymond Green’s Punch Had Long-Lasting Implications
Draymond Green’s passion and drive may be what makes him who he is, but there is no denying that the punch derailed the Warriors’ season a fair bit. Reports after their playoff loss suggested that the punch caused distrust within the organization.
Jordan Poole recently opened up about the punch and how it affected him, too, it caused a lot of problems for the defending champions. Draymond Green may have been a valuable asset to the team for his whole career, but his days in Golden State might just be numbered, thanks to all this and his contract situation.
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