Draymond Green punching teammate Jordan Poole last year is still making headlines to this day. Before the 2022–23 season started and the Warriors were set to begin their title defense, a video of Green punching Poole during a practice was leaked and the team started the year on its back foot.
As a result of the incident, Green was fined and stepped away from the team for some time. He apologized, but things were never the same. While talking to 76ers guard Patrick Beverley, Green was asked about what led to the punch and he gave a cryptic answer.
“I don’t just hit people,” Green said on the the Pat Bev Pod. “Dialogue of course happens over time and you usually ain’t just triggered by something, like, that fast. This is a team. Ain’t nobody on my team triggering me in an instant.
“We know stuff that you don’t say amongst men,” he continued. “We know things you have to stand on.”
"I don't just hit people. Dialogue happens over time and you usually ain't triggered by something that fast… We know stuff you don't say amongst men. We know things that you have to stand on."
— NBACentral (@TheNBACentral) July 19, 2023
- Draymond
(Via @PatBevPod / h/t @ClutchPointsApp )
pic.twitter.com/83os4KpxMI
Although he didn’t specifically cite the reason he punched Poole, it appears friction between the two were building up over time. After the season ended, Green admitted that his choice not to speak his mind to the team and lead in the same way after the incident helped cause the Warriors to slip behind and fail to become a championship-caliber team.
The friction came to a dramatic end this offseason when Golden State traded Poole to the Wizards in a blockbuster deal, with the Warriors landing Chris Paul.
