Since the Oct. 5 “altercation” between Golden State Warriors‘ forward Draymond Green and guard Jordan Poole in a closed practice, and the Oct. 7 release of video of Green punching Poole, there’s been a lot of talk about it from all corners of the NBA world. Former Green teammate Kevin Durant weighed in, while ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith claimed Green might be headed out of the Bay Area before he hits free agency in 2024, and even Green discussed it as a “huge embarrassment” last week.
Poole (seen above during an Oct. 14 preseason game) has been silent publicly on the matter, though. But he changed that Sunday. That change came shortly after he agreed to a four-year, $140 million extension. In his news conference about that extension, Poole discussed Green’s punch. Here’s video of that, via C.J. Holmes of The San Francisco Chronicle:
“You know, he apologized. It was professional, and we plan on handling ourselves that way. We’re here to play basketball. And everybody in the locker room and on our team knows what it takes to win a championship, and we’re gonna do that on the court. I mean, that’s really all I have to say on the matter. We’re here to win a championship and keep hanging banners. Anything in regards to the contract situation, the extension, us winning back-to-back championships? Any basketball-related questions, I’m all ears.”
It makes sense that Poole wants to move on from this and from talking about it. But there are still going to be lots of questions about Green and Poole playing together after this, especially now that the Warriors have committed to Poole for a further four years and $140 million.
[C.J. Holmes on Twitter; photo from John Hefti/USA Today Sports]
About Andrew Bucholtz
Andrew Bucholtz has been covering sports media for Awful Announcing since 2012. He is also a staff writer for The Comeback. His previous work includes time at Yahoo! Sports Canada and Black Press.