Although it happened nearly a year ago, people are still talking about how Draymond Green punched Jordan Poole during a Golden State Warriors practice session.
This moment obviously had an impact on the team’s chemistry.
Green received pushback from people when he said that Poole wasn’t an “adult.”
Former player and current analyst Eddie Johnson addressed Green’s comment on SiriusXM NBA Radio and said that he should have done more to craft and mold Poole when he was young.
“You grab young players when they get into the league and you try to harness them and you try to help them grow to adults,” Johnson said.
Johnson partly blamed Green for Poole’s allegedly immaturity: “It was on your watch Draymond, and you didn’t know about how to help him mature.”
“It’s just bad leadership man”.
🏀 @JumpShot8 thinks Draymond Green could’ve handled the Jordan Poole situation differently. pic.twitter.com/vCm8p6DcNy
— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) July 19, 2023
Although the team said that everything was resolved after that punch last summer, things were never really the same for the Warriors after it.
That started a very long, troubled season for the former champions, who were attempting to return to the Finals.
They experienced a bunch of losses, including a large number on the road, and were pushed out of the playoffs in the second round.
Meanwhile, rumors of a dysfunctional team chemistry remained, partly because of the Green-Poole situation.
Some commentators like Johnson and others say that Green wasn’t showing leadership skills at that moment.
It doesn’t matter what Poole said to him or how he acted, they claim.
As a team elder, it was Green’s responsibility to step up and address Poole with maturity and respect.
He should have taken Poole under his wing instead of punching him.
This incident is definitely in the past now but it seems to continually pop up and may continue to for some time.
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