The Draymond Green and Jordan Poole altercation has spun into one of the biggest stories of the offseason after an unprecedented leak within the Warriors led to the video of Green punching Poole out being available to the entire world. That has made it harder for the Warriors to stick to their initial statement about the fight prior to the video when they had said they don’t intend to suspend Draymond for it.
Ultimately, the Warriors stuck by their veteran with the decision to not suspend him for his action. Adrian Wojnarowski revealed that the primary reason behind this is to ensure that Green doesn’t miss out on the ring ceremony for his 4th championship alongside Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Andre Iguodala. Poole reportedly also didn’t want Green to serve a suspension.
“I’m told that the Warriors put significant weight on the fact that opening night is also ring night and the hanging of the Warriors 2022 championship banner and they simply weren’t gonna measure that as a one-out-of-82-game suspension, that if this incident had landed in the middle of the regular season, there’d probably be a suspension. If the Warriors weren’t defending champions and were just playing an ordinary opening night, there might very well be a suspension.”
Considering the proven value that Green has brought to the team’s ability to win titles for years, it would be extremely hurtful to have him miss out on the ring ceremony. If the Warriors organization feels he deserves to be there despite his actions in training, then he most definitely deserves to be there.
Can The Warriors Put This Behind Them?
Outside noise heading into a campaign where the Warriors look to retain their title could be a problem for the franchise. If Poole and Draymond’s relationship casts a media shadow all season long, it’ll be harder for the Warriors to lock in and focus on the title.
If Green and Poole can settle their differences and ensure that their relationship doesn’t affect others on the team, it would be okay. However, that is something that is ensured through action and not talking, so Green would have to fundamentally change his behavior to make this locker room gel together.
