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The NBA media day sessions came and went, largely without much drama, even though some was anticipated with franchises with question marks like the Brooklyn Nets, and the league had a rare quiet moment after a loud offseason. That all changed, however, when Shams Charania of The Athletic reported that there was an altercation between Draymond Green and Jordan Poole at practice. Then somehow, the footage was leaked to TMZ of Green punching and knocking out Poole on the Warriors’ practice court.
The two are known to argue according to Charania’s reporting, “Poole and Green are known to regularly get into verbal arguments, but the team’s management and leadership believes a line was crossed.” Then the line was crossed when it came to blows last week.
Kevin Durant on Warriors’ Practice Altercation
Kevin Durant was a member of the Golden State Warriors and was a player also believed to have in regular arguments with Green, which is believed to have contributed to Durant’s exit from the Bay. Durant spoke out about the altercation between Green and Poole on Wednesday and talked about how this situation compared to his disagreements with Green as a member of the Warriors.
“That’s not the same situation,” Durant told ESPN. “Somebody got punched in the face … It’s no comparison to that. It was just some words that being—I heard people say that that happens a lot in the NBA. I had never seen nothing like that before. But what me and Draymond did a few years back, that s— happens all the time. So it’s easy to get through something like that, but I don’t know what this situation is like.”
Durant also disagreed with the notion that these kinds of things are common in the NBA.
“It’s rare,” Durant told ESPN. “It’s rare. I’ve been in the league 16 years, and I’ve never seen that until the other day on camera. You hear about it with [Michael Jordan] and you hear about it with Bobby Portis, but there’s nothing that’s happening every year. It’s very rare that something like that happens.
“It’s none of our business. But it happened to be part of our daily conversation because we’ve seen the videos,” he continued. “We’ve all got our opinions, but to be honest, mine’s don’t matter. It is what it is.”
Draymond Green on the Altercation with Poole
Draymond Green has showed his remorse in the aftermath of the altercation with Jordan Poole. He shared his regret with ESPN last week.
“I like to keep my emotions to myself, but what I do want to change and what I do want to work on is how they end up coming out and how do you let them out without them coming out in a way you ultimately regret. And this is one I regret. There are not many things in life I regret,” Green said via ESPN.
“That day that took place I was in a very, very bad space mentally,” Green said. “As a leader of this team, I needed to have a better feel for myself and just know and understand where my wick’s end was and what could possibly push me the wrong way. Frankly, I didn’t handle that well and I failed as a leader. I failed as a man, and I failed as a leader.”
Steve Kerr on the Leaked Video
One of the things making the situation worse in Golden State is that the video of the altercation was linked to TMZ. Warriors head coach Steve Kerr sounded off on the problems that occur when the video got out.
“When things are kept internally, it’s almost easy to handle. As soon as things are leaked, all hell breaks loose. That affects every single player, and coach. … It’s like if you had a camera in your family and there was a family dispute. Would you really want to discuss it with the world? No.”
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