Draymond Green has undone years of goodwill he had built within the Golden State Warriors organization and the larger NBA fanbase in one swing when he punched out Jordan Poole. Maybe it would have been okay if we never saw the video, but the leaking of the same made Draymond look even worse than when the story had broken.
Draymond’s actions have cost him in the locker room, with both Kevon Looney and Steve Kerr saying that Green needs to rebuild trust with his teammates. The former Defensive Player of the Year has responded to that with a bit of confusion, not sure of what is being said to him through these words.
Draymond on the notion he needs to rebuild trust with his teammates:
"When I hear the word trust, I’m not sure that’s the most fitting word of what people are trying to say. … What does that truly mean? I don’t quite know."
— 95.7 The Game (@957thegame) October 13, 2022
While this might sound standoffish, Green is probably just openly asking what people mean by that statement, It can’t be easy to hear for him, especially in an extension-eligible year, but that is the sentiment the team has publicly shared with the world. There will be a lot of internal conversations about this as well, and Green can hopefully get this clarified with his teammates and coach Kerr before opening night.
Is This The End For Draymond Green On The Golden State Warriors?
People believe that this entire situation started over contract values as Draymond feels he deserves a full max contract extension from the team for his years of service to the franchise, Golden State is unwilling to give him that but giving Poole a massive contract is what allegedly got Draymond upset, with Poole also reportedly rubbing it in Draymond’s face. This has been denied by Green since.
With everything that has gone down, it is very unlikely that the Warriors are rushing to offer Draymond what he wants. Unless he has a sensational season where he raises his offensive production and maintains his DPOY-caliber defense, it will be hard for Green to work his value up for a team that already has multiple people to pay well over $30 million every season.
If Green doesn’t leave by declining his player option next offseason, he probably will be gone the year after, and hope somebody else around the league sees his value more than the franchise that drafted him and won 4 titles with him.
