This Is How Much I’m Worried About The Reported Physical Altercation Between Draymond Green and Jordan Poole

This isn't exactly unprecedented.

Good morning. Let’s basketball.

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Out Hunting for Teeth, Francisco Goya, 1797-98

The Athletic reports that during an argument during practice on Wednesday, Draymond Green and Jordan Poole were chest to chest when Green “forcefully struck” Poole, leading others to step in and separate the two. ($) The Athletic also reports that the team is leaning toward disciplinary action against Green.

Yahoo!’s Chris Haynes reports that Green was apologetic in the aftermath but felt that Poole had been, and I paraphrase, been getting too big for his britches.

Chris Haynes @ChrisBHaynes

Draymond 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 @YahooSports.

Andre Iguodala chimed in, as well.

andre @andre

What we not gone do is talk crazy about my young fella JP… great character kid… miss me with all that other bs… straight from the “SOURCE”

On a scale of 1-10, how worried am I about the defending champs having a practice skirmish in training camp after returning from a trip to Japan? When the apparent instigator is Draymond Green? Zero. My worry is a zero. Three reasons why:

1. Draymond Green has been disciplined by the Warriors for going out of pocket before, back when he was getting into fights with Kevin Durant during actual basketball games. That whole episode didn’t really do much as far as we know but dominant media coverage for a few days. (Durant was ready to leave whatever the case.) Whatever fine Green picks up, he probably considers professional expenses to have some law and order in the locker room.

2. Jordan Poole is about to get a major contract extension, meaning he’ll definitely be around for another year. Green isn’t going anywhere either. They’ll have to work out whatever drama they have.

3. This is clearly a case of Michigan vs. Michigan State rivalry manifesting in a workplace.

Seriously, Green’s purported vibe — what we see on the sidelines and what we hear about — would be absolutely atrocious in a real workplace. I propose that he’s a smart dude who probably wouldn’t act like this outside of the setting of a basketball team. Professional sports teams have different norms on matters like this, and Green pushes the boundary of acceptable interpersonal communication, and the Warriors have shown an openness to sanction him when he does. And yet, he’s still paid very handsomely by the team to play excellent basketball and help win championships. Having won the most recent championship, the idea that Green’s on-court (game or practice) personality would damage the Warriors’ chances seems outlandish.

This is fine, and I don’t mean that in the “sarcastic dog in a room engulfed in flames” way. This is legitimately fine.

The bigger issue going forward isn’t beef between Warriors, but the team’s enormous luxury tax bill as Poole gets paid and invoices for the other young generation on the team come due. Green is now 32 and can be a free agent next summer. Otherwise, he has a $28 million player option for 2023-24. We might be running up on the tail end of his tenure with Golden State for simple financial reasons.