The Draymond Green and Jordan Poole saga has been all over the NBA world for the last three days. After initial reports suggested that there was an altercation between Poole and Green, things had dialed down significantly.
But all of it changed when the video of the altercation was leaked to the public yesterday. With Draymond clearly losing his cool and punching the guard, it was clear that the forward was at fault in this instance. Given that the 32-year-old is often considered a team player and has advocated for Poole multiple times, seeing the 2017 DPOY hit Poole was a shocker for many.
Monty Williams Defends Draymond Green’s Actions Against Jordan Poole
The NBA certainly was in shock when the video of the altercation between Draymond and Poole was leaked. Since then, Green has made a public apology for his behavior towards the young guard and announced that he would be taking a break from the Golden State Warriors’ training sessions.
While fans and critics have been rampant cynical about Green, Phoenix Suns coach Monty Williams defended Green.
“I’ve been around Draymond… I know he’s passionate, he’s emotional, but he’s also a guy that cares. To see him in that light, I was like, man, that’s really not who he is. I worked with him on the (2016) Olympic team and that’s not the guy that I know.”
Although the reaction from Draymond might not be a reflection of him as an individual, his actions have left a massive impact on the Warriors’ offseason. Given how the team has functioned as a unit all this while, an incident like this might be a game-breaker for many.
From an individual standpoint, the forward might have lost a massive opportunity to obtain a max contract for himself. The 2022-23 season was supposed to be the career year for Green, but things changed rapidly, and the chances of the former DPOY bagging a massive contract might be slim. Can the Warriors recover from such a big incident?
