By now, most people who follow the NBA have seen the footage of the physical altercation between Draymond Green and Jordan Poole. There is no doubt that Draymond Green was in the wrong in this situation.
Recently, Stephen Jackson has stated that Draymond Green needs to fix the situation with Jordan Poole, noting that one should never hit their teammates as Green did in practice.
Stephen Jackson says Draymond Green was wrong for sucker punching Jordan Poole
(h/t @AhnFireDigital) pic.twitter.com/H1GXPzEavD
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) October 7, 2022
There’s no reason to sucker punch a young fella. I told Draymond last night… he gotta fix that situation with Poole. He don’t benefit from it at all. He gotta be the big bro… you never hit the little homies, or your teammates like that in practice.
It remains to be seen what sort of actions Draymond Green does to make amends going forward. He definitely needs to address this situation in one way or another, and perhaps we’ll hear another update on what he did to make things right with Jordan Poole in the future.
This Behavior Was Uncharacteristic Of Draymond Green
A recent report suggested that some members of the Golden State Warriors were shocked about the “bad intentions” behind Draymond Green’s punch. It was noted that nothing Jordan Poole said warranted that sort of response.
One of the tricky elements to the fallout of this situation is few people saw Green actually hit Poole. They know he hit him. They saw the two get separated and Poole getting off the ground. But most were focused on the scrimmage before hearing the commotion. Nothing suggested violence was about to happen, so they weren’t paying attention. And it happened so fast.
But on Friday morning, many watched the video and saw what happened for the first time, along with the rest of us. Multiple sources said their view of the situation is altered. Seeing Green walking up on Poole with obvious bad intentions. Seeing him respond to a baited shove from Poole with a ready swing. Seeing how much venom was behind the punch. That wasn’t the Draymond they knew. That was different than a chin-checking jab they presumed, the kind of measured punch you’d give your little brother.
Green’s actions weren’t justified by any words Poole uttered or the momentum of intensity. Sources on the team keep stressing that. What Green did was an intrusion on the vibe.
Hopefully, we will see Draymond Green learn from this situation. Violent outbursts like this are unacceptable in the NBA, and though they may happen from time to time, it is hard to see a player simply walking up to another teammate and sucker-punching them in the face.
The Golden State Warriors will likely try to resolve this situation as soon as possible. They need to focus on the upcoming 2022-23 season, and hopefully, this altercation between two key players doesn’t affect their play.
