The bad blood between Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors and his former teammate Jordan Poole came to a boil again nine months after the incident that ripped the two apart.
Green in early October 2022 threw a punch that knocked Poole out, promptly sending shock waves through the organization and the entire NBA after video of the incident was made public. Green, to his credit, never shied away from responsibility for his actions. However, on Wednesday, July 19, he argued on the Pat Bev Podcast with Rone that the violence wasn’t entirely unwarranted.
“I don’t just hit people,” Green said. “Dialogue, of course, happens over time, and you usually ain’t just triggered by something, like that fast, to that degree. You know what I’m saying? Like, this is a team. Ain’t nobody on my team triggering me in an instant. You know, we know stuff that you don’t say amongst men. We know things that you have to stand on.”
Green’s quote clearly indicates that Poole made comments to him that aren’t exchanged “amongst men.” While Green didn’t specify what those comments were, he further asserted that Poole took the so-called inappropriate line with him on multiple occasions, leading to the physical altercation. In short, Green implied that Poole was asking for it and then Green alone isn’t at fault for what went down.
Without knowing the specific words Poole uttered, it’s difficult to determine what response, if any, from Green would have been appropriate. However, there is no question that the video of Green dropping his younger teammate on the practice floor during a scrimmage embarrassed Poole to a significant degree and damaged the personal and professional relationship the two teammates had built to that point. Head coach Steve Kerr said point blank following the end of the Warriors’ playoff run that Green’s fist shook the entire team, “compromising” the locker room chemistry throughout the year.
Now a safe distance away from Green as a member of the Washington Wizards, Poole appeared to come back at Green via an Instagram story later on Wednesday.
Jordan Poole quoting lyrics via IG: ‘Talk of the topic … Find you a hobby,'” the caption said.
The lyrics from the track Bottom, by the artist Gunna, which Poole quoted appear to imply that Green is laughably fixated on Poole and their physical altercation from last year, and that Green needs to move on.
The Wizards’ shooting guard’s father Anthony Poole also posted to Twitter where he called Green a “soft a** b****” and “lame,” adding that Green can meet him “anytime he want.”
Green responded by mocking the elder Poole and warning him to be careful with his language, as some of Poole’s choice words “don’t go over well amongst men.”