It’s been about a month since news broke that the Golden State Warriors were trading Jordan Poole to the Washington Wizards in exchange for Chris Paul. With the departure of Poole being something that fans and media members hand long speculated could happen, NBA Legend Charles Barkley believes that the organization’s feelings about the 24-year-old were the driving force behind his exit.
“They hated Jordan Poole,” Barkley told NBC Sports Bay Area’s Monte Poole. “They really hated Jordan Poole. That’s the No. 1 thing I said to myself: They really hated Jordan Poole.”
Of course, Poole’s trade came less than a year after he inked a four year, $128 million extension to remain with the Warriors. From the time that he signed the contract, things only went downhill for the former Michigan standout.
First, he was on the wrong end of a punch from teammate Draymond Green at a preseason practice. Then, video of the incident surfaced, went viral, and became one of the main storylines surrounding the team for the entirety of the 2022-23 campaign.
As a result, Poole’s play suffered. He struggled with consistency throughout the course of the season, before eventually imploding in the playoffs where he averaged just 10.3 points per game while shooting 34.1% from the field and 25.4% from beyond the arc.
By the time that the Warriors were eliminated at the hands of the Los Angeles Lakers, Poole was essentially unplayable.
Draymond Green Pins Blame on Jordan Poole for Warriors Beef
Green, the man who seemingly ignited the beef that derailed Golden State’s championship defense, spoke on the matter during a recent appearance on the “Pat Bev Pod.” The 33-year-old dished out blame to Poole, saying that he doesn’t “just hit people.”
“I don’t just hit people,” Green told host Patrick Beverly. “Dialogue — of course — happens over time. You usually ain’t just triggered by something, that fast to that degree. This is a team. Ain’t nobody on my team triggering me in an instant. Dialogue of course happens over time… We know stuff that you don’t say amongst men. We know things that you have to stand on. As I’ve admitted before, I was wrong in the way that I handled it — for the situation and where we were. But, I’m a man at the end of the day and I stand on things. And there are certain things you have to stand on.”
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Draymond Green Has Issues With Warriors’ Jonathan Kuminga
Monte Poole, who published the aforementioned interview with Barkley, recently revealed that his namesake wasn’t the only person on the team that Green had/has issues with. He mentioned that the four-time NBA champion doesn’t have the best relationship with Jonathan Kuminga either.
“It’s a problem and it can only be fixed by Draymond, who has to commit himself to doing that,” Poole told 95.7 The Game’s “Steiny and Guru.”. “Honestly, at this point, we’re not sure that he’s ready to do that. They’ve signed him to a new contract, which implies that they believe he can and will. But I think there are a lot of people over there thinking, ‘Let’s wait and see how this plays out. Around the league, there are a lot more people saying, ‘I don’t know.’ We’re gonna find out.”
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Warriors ‘Really Hated’ Jordan Poole, Says NBA Legend