Draymond regrets being away from Warriors after punching Poole originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Draymond Green has not been the Warriors leader most know him to be after the Jordan Poole situation.
Instead, the four-time NBA champion took a back seat and distanced himself from his Golden State teammates.
In an exclusive interview with Andscape’s Marc J. SpearsGreen explained how he broke free from the Warriors before being inspired to reel himself back into the mix.
“Green told Andscape that he engaged less with his teammates outside of work for three main reasons: Being a family man with a wife and three kids, being-there-done-that. NBA veteran mentalityand a belief that he needed to be less engaged after punching then-Warriors teammate Jordan Poole in a 2022 practice,” Spears wrote.
Green is one of the league’s most vocal and seemingly motivational teammates. However, he confessed that was not the case after the Green-Poole incident on October 5, 2022, while mentally preoccupied with other matters.
It was hard for Green to figure out what to do after being in the spotlight to hit Poole. Even after issuing public and private apologies, things were not back to normal between Green, Poole and the Warriors.
“So [Poole] happened and I’m like, ‘I really have to do my own thing, stay on the sidelines, stay out of the way,’” Green told Spears. “I’m not sure that was the right thing either. But while it lasted, that’s what feels right. Hindsight is 20/20. We always look at something like: ‘If I had known that then, I would have done X.’ So, at the time that seemed right to me.
“I can’t sit here and tell you it was right. But what can I tell you, it’s not the right thing for me personally. I’m not a loner by any stretch of the imagination. I don’t know how people do it.”
Being distant is not who Green typically is; however, he was temporarily until tragedy struck Golden State during the 2023-24 season.
The passing away of assistant coach Dejan Milojević dramatically changed the dynamics of a locker room. There was no room for hiccups and loneliness, because the Warriors needed each other. That made Green change his mindset, he explained to Spears, and get re-engaged.
Spears added that Green had a “revelation” after Milojević’s death. And Green was clear that while the nightmare brought him closer to the Golden State, the Poole situation was already on the back burner.
“No, it wasn’t necessarily me moving on from it,” Green told Spears of Milojević’s passing possibly inducing the Warriors’ forward to move past the Poole situation. “I moved on long before I should have. You can’t sit and stand in the mud and dwell in the past. I apologized for my wrongdoings. I tried to do everything I could to make it right. I can’t sit there and dwell on it.
“You just keep growing. You keep realizing what’s important. So often we sit and we complain. And for me, I always try to remind myself, ‘Everybody has s–t. What makes your s–t so special?’ It’s just your bullshit. It doesn’t diminish anyone else either. That’s their shit.”
Green, who faced a number of suspensions last season, has made significant progress in team involvement since the Poole incident.
Speaking with Spears, Green emphasized creating a fun environment with Golden State like retired NBA veterans Jared Jack and David Lee did for him early in his career.
Green cannot change what happened with Poole and the aftermath that ensued. What’s done is done. However, Green can continue to catalyze positivity within the Warriors organization.
“It happened,” Green said of the Poole dilemma. “I moved on a long time ago and tried to do what I can to move forward, help people move forward. The Deki situation wasn’t like that for me, it was just like that. Go to work with someone every day. And then suddenly you’re not.”
The Warriors, who are undefeated entering their preseason finale against the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday, would appreciate Green, with the Poole incident long behind him, engaging as normal throughout the 2024-25 NBA season.
And Green doesn’t seem to want to be in such a dark position ever again.
