What is the extent of Draymond Green's punishment for Jordan Poole incident? All you need to know
Draymond Green has been punished by the Golden State Warriors for punching Jordan Poole in practice. The Warriors announced on Tuesday that Green was fined an undisclosed amount and will not be suspended. He will be back with the team on Thursday and will play against the Denver Nuggets on Friday.
After a lengthy evaluation of the whole situation, the Warriors decided not to suspend Green. The team met to discuss the incident that happened last week. According to head coach Steve Kerr, Green and Poole discussed the matter in detail along with others in the organization. He said:
"We have spent the last week in deep discussions with all of our key figures in the organization, including Jordan and Draymond of course. Steph, all of our players, Bob, myself, and I can tell you there have been a lot of conversations, individual, one-on-one discussions, players-only discussions.
"Everything that you can think of, all the different combinations that are possible to have in a conversation, we've had them. It's been an exhaustive process."
Some view the punishment as light since Draymond Green did not get a suspension. The Golden State Warriors suspended Green for one game for his verbal altercation with Kevin Durant in 2019. The NBA suspended Bobby Portis for eight games after punching teammate Nikola Mirotic in 2017.
Despite video evidence of Draymond Green punching Jordan Poole, the Warriors decided not to suspend Green. Head coach Steve Kerr explained on Tuesday that they viewed the incident independently. However, Kerr called the incident the biggest crisis they ever faced as a team. He said:
"We feel like this is the best way after assessing everything for us to move forward. It's never easy no matter what decision you make in a situation like this. It's not going to be perfect. This is the biggest crisis that we've ever had since I’ve been coach here. It's really serious stuff."
How did Jordan Poole react to the punishment?
Draymond Green answered questions about the incident on Saturday before taking a few days away from the team. Meanwhile, Jordan Poole was quiet about the altercation and recent reports suggest that he's not forgiven his teammate.
However, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr praised Poole's maturity in handling the situation. Kerr told reporters on Tuesday that Poole feels fine and is ready to move forward. Kerr said:
"Not much phases him. I think that's part of why we're going the way we're going. Because we know he's fine, he's willing to move forward. He's willing to, basically, get back on the floor with Draymond and go to work."
The Warriors and Poole have until Oct. 17 to agree on an extension. If they fail to sign a new deal, Poole will be a restricted free agent next offseason.