Report: Warriors' Draymond Green To Face Discipline for Jordan Poole Altercation
October 6, 2022
Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green is facing discipline stemming from an altercation with Jordan Poole during Wednesday's practice.
Per The Athletic's Shams Charania, Anthony Slater and Marcus Thompson, the Warriors are "seriously considering disciplinary action" against Green after a "heated interaction" with Poole in which they were chest-to-chest before pushing and shoving each other.
After that, Green "forcefully struck" Poole, and the two needed to be separated. The team stopped practice in an attempt to "settle nerves" in the locker room.
ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski noted Green swung at and made contact with Poole.
The report noted Green and Poole "regularly" get into verbal arguments behind the scenes, but the belief from Warriors management and leadership was that incident went too far.
Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports added more detail on the aftermath of the altercation:
Chris Haynes @ChrisBHaynesDraymond Green was apologetic in aftermath of the altercation with Jordan Poole, but there was a buildup stemming from teammates noticing a change in Poole’s behavior throughout camp with the guard on the verge of securing a lucrative extension, league sources tell <a href="https://twitter.com/YahooSports?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@YahooSports</a>.
C.J. Holmes of the San Francisco Chronicle reported Green will be disciplined for the altercation, but the Warriors don't believe the altercation will be an issue long-term.
Green is known to be very vocal on the court, both in practice and during games. Donte DiVincenzo, who signed with the Warriors as a free agent in July, praised the four-time All-Star for taking charge during the team's first scrimmage last month.
"That's what he does," DiVincenzo told reporters on Sept. 24 after the team's first scrimmage at training camp. "That's all I've heard since I got here, and I witnessed it for the first day. It's contagious, I would say. His positive energy correcting people, teaching people right away was great."
In November 2020, Golden State general manager Bob Myers told then-rookie James Wiseman during his introductory press conference not to take Green's intense attitude personal because he's that way with everyone.
"He wants to win so bad," Myers told Wiseman about Green. "Don't take it personally. He's yelled at me. I don't think he's yelled at Joe [Lacob]. He's yelled at Steve [Kerr] for sure. He's yelled at all our teammates. Yelled at Steph [Curry]. May have yelled at the media. That's just who he is. But he wins. So if you want to learn anything from that guy, he's a winner."
Even though it seems like everyone with the Warriors understands Green's attitude and practice habits, Wednesday's incident appears to have gone beyond the usual level of antagonism.
Green and Poole are two of the most important players on Golden State's roster as the team prepares to defend its NBA championship. Poole ranked third on the team with 18.5 points per game and made 36.4 percent of his three-point attempts.
Green remains one of the best defensive players in the league. He also led the club with 7.0 assists and tied for the team lead with 7.3 rebounds per game in 46 games last season.
Both also have a lot at stake this season. Poole is seeking a long-term contract extension entering the final year of his rookie deal. Green is going into the last guaranteed year of his current contract that also has a $27.6 million player option for 2023-24.
The Warriors have three preseason games remaining before opening the regular season at home against the Los Angeles Lakers on Oct. 18.