Draymond praises Poole’s growth with Wizards despite taunting exchange originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Even years after their heated feud as Warriors teammates, Draymond Green and Jordan Poole seem to be going on. don’t be the best of friends on different teams on separate coasts.
But that didn’t stop the Golden State veteran forward from praising the growth of the young guard in his second season with the Washington Wizards.
“He’s playing better. He’s playing a lot better,” Green told reporters after the The 125-112 victory of warriors over the Wizards on Monday at Capital One Arena. “I think his shot selection, you know, you come to a new situation — I’ve never done it — but I’ve watched it a lot, as a competitor, you just want to show everything you can do. . You want to show , that you are the guy.
“And I think last year he was under a lot of pressure, he just wanted it to happen so bad. And this year he’s a lot more determined. He’s not taking some of the shots he made last year. They were bad shots. I I don’t think it was a matter of selfishness, I think it was about wanting to prove to people so badly that I can have my own team, I can come here and succeed, that it ends up working against you. a year, he’s doing much better.”
Poole, who was selected by Golden State in the first round of the 2019 NBA Draft, was traded to the Wizards during the 2023 offseason for veteran point guard Chris Paul in a blockbuster move that stunned the league — just one season after being . his best statistical NBA campaign and two after unquestionably helping Golden State win its fourth NBA title in eight years.
The shock trade also came less than nine months after Green punched Poole during a closed Warriors practice, and video of the incident was leaked to social media.
Players and coaches admitted after the fact that the chemistry was never the same throughout the 2022-23 season, as the then-defending champion Warriors fell to the Los Angeles Lakers in the second round of the Western Conference playoffs.
While Poole, Green and the Warriors have seemingly moved on from the situation — Monday’s game may have shown otherwise. Poole and Green each taunted each other during the matchup, with Poole pointing to Green first after knocking down a 3-pointer. Green later returned the favor and pointed right back at his former teammate after a Steph Curry halftime buzzer beater.
Aside from all the antics, however, Green acknowledged the growth of the 25-year-old, who finished the game with 24 points on 8 of 20 shooting, with one rebound, three assists, three steals, four blocks and one turnover in 34 minutes.
“He had one turnover tonight. That speaks to the patience he’s playing with right now,” Green said. “So I think he’s doing a really good job of settling down now and letting the game come to him, not necessarily chasing it like he did last year. But you’d much rather have a guy who’s going to chase it and go for broke than a guy who comes in and says, ‘Ah, I don’t have it.’
“So I think now he’s starting to show more of who he is and what he’s grown in this league as opposed to last year, he just wanted it so bad. I think he’s doing a much better job this year. “
While Green may not embrace Poole the way Warriors coach Steve Kerr, Curry and others do when they meet each other, his respect for Poole as a player is certainly there — deep, deep down
