Draymond Green has been heavily criticized by both the media and fans alike for punching teammate Jordan Poole in the face. There is no doubt that this was an unacceptable action from the forward.
Despite the severity of the punch, it seems as though Draymond Green will not be suspended by the Golden State Warriors. Steve Kerr has recently revealed that Draymond Green will rejoin the team this upcoming Thursday, noting that he has been “fined but not suspended”.
Draymond Green will rejoin the team on Thursday, Steve Kerr says.
He has been fined but not suspended. Kerr says he will play in the team’s final preseason game on Friday, and will be available on opening night.
— Kendra Andrews (@kendra__andrews) October 12, 2022
https://twitter.com/_Talkin_NBA/status/1580056281976827905
He is going to come back to practice on Thursday. He’s been fined, he will not be suspended. I expect him to play Friday in our last preseason game, and on opening night.
It remains to be seen how Draymond Green’s return ends up affecting the locker room. It was previously revealed that Draymond Green has lost the trust of his teammates after punching Jordan Poole, and it is unlikely that their trust has been regained in a matter of days.
There’s a painful premise that Myers laid bare with his remarks: Green, a future Hall of Famer and one of the greatest Warriors players who ever lived, has lost the trust and respect of his teammates and must now begin the process of earning it back. There’s just no way of denying the profound and harsh truth behind what he said.
Yet even beyond all the nuanced context that comes with Green and his complicated relationship with the Warriors, there was an uncomfortable reality of this scuffle that simply can’t be ignored. Green, who is nearly a decade older than Poole and listed as 36 pounds heavier, chose to swing on his much younger and much smaller teammate in a way that was seen internally as wildly unjustified. There is, it seems, a universal agreement on that much.
Hopefully, though, Draymond Green’s return to the team goes smoothly. There is no doubt that he is integral to the Golden State Warriors on both ends of the floor, and we’ll see how he performs going forward.
The Golden State Warriors Will Be Contenders Again Next Season
If the Golden State Warriors have their full squad fully healthy, then there’s no reason that they can’t win a title again. They are an elite defensive team, with a lot of offensive talent as well.
Hopefully, we see the Golden State Warriors have a productive year. There’s no doubt that the situation with Draymond Green and Jordan Poole has inserted some drama into the start of their season, but perhaps now the team will be able to move past that and win a championship.
