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Golden State Warriors star Jordan Poole has never said much about the preseason punch he absorbed from Draymond Green, even when answering questions about it.
The embattled Dubs guard kept mostly to that trend when speaking with Logan Murdock of The Ringer following the Warriors’ exit from the playoffs. Murdock asked Poole directly about his relationship with Green and how the infamous jab has changed it.
“I don’t have no answer for you other than that we was just on the court and teammates, and we was out there trying to win games,” Poole said. “It’s just business, honestly. And that’s really all it was, it is, it has been. It’s just been business. It’s been basketball.”
Jordan Poole’s Relationship With Draymond Green Never Recovered After Punch
GettyJordan Poole (left) and Draymond Green (right) of the Golden State Warriors.
Poole’s comments on Green fell far short of effusive and included no explicit mention of friendship, mentorship or respect.
ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne authored a eulogy of the Warriors’ season after LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers ended it in Game 6 of the Western Conference Semifinals, in which she reported that the tension between Poole and Green never truly dissipated following the altercation.
“Green’s punch didn’t just knock out Poole. It laid bare the tension between the older championship core and the younger players the organization hoped would supersede them one day,” Shelburne wrote on Saturday, May 13. “And it has never really gone away, sources say, despite Poole’s relative silence on the matter this season.”
Poole also provided Shelburne with a couple of comments on his relationship with Green, in which he invoked the concept of maturity multiple times.
“I don’t speak on it much,” Poole said. “But I will say that … you’ve got to have a different level of maturity.”
“We had a season to play. You’re going to have to play with these people in the locker room, and that’s why I said maturity is a big thing,” Poole continued. “What I know for a fact is there aren’t many people who would be able to think logically and understand the magnitude of the situation, you know?”
Jordan Poole, Draymond Green May Not be Teammates in Golden State Next Season
GettyDraymond Green (left) and Jordan Poole (right) of the Golden State Warriors.
Hanging over the Warriors’ entire situation are financial concerns that could push Poole, Green or both out of Golden State as early as next season.
The Dubs are headed for a payroll/luxury tax bill well north of $400 million in 2023-24. Green has a $27.6 million player option but has stated previously his desire is to re-up with the franchise long-term. There will be a market for Green should he choose to opt out of his contract this summer, meaning there is a real risk that the next time he steps onto an NBA court, he will do so wearing another team’s uniform.
Poole signed a $128 million deal with the Warriors just days before Green hit him with the haymaker. Given his struggles in the playoffs and a generally down campaign from the start of the season, Anthony Slater and Shams Charania of The Athletic listed Poole as the most likely trade candidate in Golden State’s locker room.
“If cost-cutting is required, he profiles as the likeliest candidate. Poole had a turbulent fourth season, beginning when he took the infamous preseason punch from Green during a training camp practice,” Slater and Charania wrote on May 12. “The relationship was never fully repaired and Poole’s struggles didn’t help the mood, culminating in a challenging playoffs that saw his efficiency plummet and minutes get reduced.”
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