The ‘Truth’ Behind The Draymond Green & Jordan Poole Incident

The Golden State Warriors were in the works to start the season on a high note amidst good vibes. But on Wednesday last week, Draymond Green brought Oakland Convention Center down with one punch. Green, known in the NBA as a fierce player and part of Golden State's championship core, roams the basketball court with the energy of a lit fuse. This time around, however, he took it to a whole new level. A video posted by TMZ Sports on Friday showing Green viciously punching one of his teammates, Jordan Poole, to the ground has the NBA world left in shock. In this video are reactions of various NBA players and legends to that unfortunate incident. Green, who has spent his entire career with Golden State, has often said that he knows how to play only one way, with force, by pushing acceptable limits. This was certainly the case in June when he tussled with various Boston Celtics players in the NBA Finals. By the end of the series, Green was a champion for the fourth time, and the Golden State Warriors carried the day. But at times, Green's aggressiveness has caused issues. Most famously, he was suspended for Game 5 of the 2016 NBA Finals after he collected too many flagrant fouls. Golden State lost that game and the next two as the Cleveland Cavaliers came back to win their first and only championship. In November 2018, he had a well-publicized squabble with Kevin Durant, who was then one of his teammates, that led to Green being suspended for a game. During a game the following March, coach Steve Kerr was filmed in a candid moment telling one of his assistants that he was tired of Green's antics. And as if all those weren't enough, Green did it one more time. If you didn't know that Green and Poole have had a beef stretching back to at least a year ago, now you know. In the shocking video released by TMZ, the two are seen trash-talking each other and it turns physical. Green walks up to Poole and gets in his face. Poole pushes Green away with two hands to the chest. Green, who is 6'6 and 230 pounds, responds with a vicious right cross to the face, so ferocious it knocks Poole to the ground and it may have knocked him out cold. According to analysis, and Chris Haynes in particular, the altercation between the two was building up over the summer as the team noticed Poole's behavior change on the verge of a big contract extension. Warriors veterans Stephen Curry and Andre Iguodala, however, pushed back on Haynes' report and GM Bob Myers denied that Poole and Green's contract situations played into the incident. Poole is on the final year of his rookie contract, while Green has two years left on his deal with the team. Bob Myers, Golden State's GM, acknowledged that there had been an altercation between the two players when he spoke at a news conference, adding that they were willing to take any disciplinary action against Green internally. The video's emergence made quite a wave of reactions from around the NBA, as a number of current and former players weighed in on the situation. While some discussed the actual events of the scuffle, others noted their surprise about the clip leaking in the first place. Let's have a look at some of those reactions starting with Damian Lillard. Just like the rest of the NBA world, Portland Trailblazers star Damian Lillard has been watching the Warriors' entire Draymond Green-Jordan Poole situation unfold from afar. And a few days after the incident, Lillard publicly weighed in on the altercation for the first time while speaking to reporters at practice. It's unfortunate, Lillard said, when you spend as much time with your teammates as we do, you want it to be positive and you want it to be respectful. But I'd be lying if I said there hasn't been a lot of heated moments that I've seen in my career. I'm sure it happens in every locker room. You never wish to see that. I think what happens behind closed doors should stay that way. So I thought the fact that video came out is wrong. But while Green has been widely admonished for his actions, Lillard's take provided somewhat of a different perspective on the punch. On the altercation itself, as wrong as it was, I think if you're a boxing fan, in boxing they say you've got to protect yourself at all times. I think Draymond, who I know pretty well, probably walked away from that situation saying, I probably shouldn't have done that to my teammate. And Jordan Poole is probably walking away thinking, when I push somebody, I should know that something may come back. Trey Young Trey Young comically responded to the video on Twitter by stating, Draymond is trying to get to LA. Damn. Stephen Curry Stephen Curry didn't say much, neither did he put blames on either side, but he told reporters that if only their entire team would have treated the situation with a lot of privacy, all the online drama would have been avoided. It's a situation that could have been avoided, but there's a lot of trust in the fabric of our team, who we are, who we know those two guys to be, and how they'll get through it and try to continue to make it about playing great basketball. Kendrick Perkins Former NBA player and now ESPN Sports Analysis, who was waived by the Cavaliers on July 17, 2018, had this to say, Beyond that being a sucker move, Draymond needs to know what he did to Jordan Poole as a man, the Warriors as a team, and his own legacy. Leadership is more than holding teammates accountable. You gotta check yourself too. Carry on. Evan Fournier New York Knicks guard and French national Evan Fournier had a more serious response. There is no way you can get back to being teammates after a punch like that. Isaiah Thomas Former Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas also had a very shocked and serious response to the punch. He went on Twitter and wrote, He's gonna have to see me every time after this sucker punch. Damn, that ain't it. And whoever leaked this should be fired too. All I'm saying is, you ain't responding with a punch if that's somebody you really rock with, especially after a push. But I ain't in the practice and I didn't hear what was being said, so I'mma leave that alone. But damn. Steven Jackson Former player and current podcast host Steven Jackson also said the punch was uncalled for. Jackson was a hothead in the NBA himself, but said there was no reason to sucker punch a younger player like Jordan Poole. There's no reason to sucker punch the young fella. I told Draymond last night that he gotta fix that situation with Poole. He don't benefit from it at all. He gotta be the big boy and tell the little bro, look, I spazzed out. But you never hit the little homies like that in practice, or your teammates. You never do that. I've never done that. Never done that. Now amidst all these, Draymond Green offered a public apology and announced he would step away from the team indefinitely. I'm going to continue to stay away as I've been away and continue to do work on myself, but also just give guys space. I do want to give my team some space. I want to give Jordan some space, and then also take a few days and continue to work on myself, take some time to let everything breathe. And in addition to a team-wide apology, Green said he had apologized to Poole individually and had also offered apologies to Poole's family. Jordan's feelings are the most important, and to be honest, I'm not sure how he feels. That's not a bridge we have crossed yet, nor should it be a bridge we've crossed yet. The most important thing initially is to allow Jordan to work through his thoughts, and not me try to persuade his thoughts one way or another. Green, 32, is a four-time All-Star and one of the NBA's most polarizing figures. A 6'6 forward, he is a ferocious defender with unique passing abilities for someone his size. He also screams at referees, taunts opposing fans, and collects technical fouls like their baseball cards. Poole, on the other side, is a 23-year-old shooting guard and was one of Golden State's breakout stars last season, averaging a career-best 18.5 points a game, while emerging as a multidimensional scoring threat next to Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. Poole is in the final season of his rookie contract and is in line for a huge extension. Their altercation story is still making headlines, and we will give you any updates as soon as we get a hold of it. Otherwise, thanks for watching. Bye!