“What if that’s Steph that he punches?” - Robert Horry asserts the Golden State Warriors blatantly and wrongly played favorites by failing to suspend Draymond Green
The Golden State Warriors' decision not to suspend Draymond Green for punching Jordan Poole continues to reverberate. Many basketball pundits feel the decision not to suspend Green was a mistake.
On “The CrossOver” podcast, seven-time NBA champion Robert Horry discussed why Draymond Green should have faced a suspension. He said:
“What if that’s Steph that he punches? The whole dynamics change because it’s Steph. He’s an elite player in this league, he is the face of the franchise. He is almost the face of the league. Now, everybody else gets involved because it’s Steph.
“In this day and age when it comes to the sporting world, I know there are certain people who matter more than others. But when it comes to situations like this, nobody should matter more than another person.”
Fantastic convo w/the legend @RKHorry on the Crossover pod, including thoughts on:
• the Draymond saga
• Westbrook as sixth man
• Rob's best & worst ring nights
• The real reason for his notorious hip-check of Steve Nash
Listen/subscribe: link.chtbl.com/crossover https://t.co/kjXzdQD3NS
Horry suggested that had it been Steph on the receiving end of the punch, things would have looked different. He argued that in a situation like this, the status of a player should be thrown out the window.
“Big Shot Bob” continued:
“So now that this is Steph, the whole world is an uproar. They might suspend Green for the season. They don’t value Poole as much as they value Steph, therefore he don’t get the punishment.”
So, Robert Horry had some, er, theories, about a Jordan Poole contract extension when we chatted for the Crossover pod.
Full episode: link.chtbl.com/crossover twitter.com/sfchronicle/st… https://t.co/cYgPW0JDBE
Horry might have hit the nail on the head as the shooting guard is now set to get a new contract. Poole is finalizing a deal for four years for $140 million.
Forcing Draymond Green to miss the ring ceremony would have been the perfect way to teach him a lesson, according to Robert Horry
One of the biggest reasons why the Golden State Warriors reportedly refused to suspend Draymond Green was the upcoming ring ceremony. He would surely have missed the season-opener and the pre-game handing out of the championship rings had a suspension been handed out.
On this, Horry said:
“We’ve seen you kick someone in the groin, we’ve seen you do all these dirty antics now you think you can get away with it. This is the perfect punishment. But this is so wrong in so many ways that they should not suspend him for that game.
"This is the most important thing in a franchise’s history - ring night. What’s the better way to teach someone a lesson? Make him miss that moment.”
Draymond Green is back with the Warriors and will pay a small fine. No suspension. So the NBA has set a clear precedent that you can knock out your teammates and just pay a small fine, but be careful what words you use, because that’s what’s truly unacceptable.
The seven-time champion added that the ring ceremony with everyone’s family in attendance could create more tension. Some from Jordan Poole's camp are still mad at Draymond Green for sucker-punching him.
Things may have settled a bit as Jordan Poole and Draymond Green played together during the Warriors’ preseason game against the Denver Nuggets. The ring ceremony is a few days away, so it will be interesting to see the stories that come out of the Warriors’ camp post that.