Draymond Green & Jordan Poole Source: Rick Osentoski / Getty
Draymond Green recently told Stephen A. Smith that the Warriors would still be in the playoffs had the Jordan Poole fight never happened.
Defending NBA Champions, the Golden State Warriors received an early playoff departure to Cancun thanks to the Lakers. This was a surprising turn of events considering that Golden State was favored to win it all again while the Lakers were initially not considered playoff contenders.
Last night during the Western Conference Finals, Stephen A. Smith brought Draymond Green on his telecast for an interview and the NBA player revealed that his falcon punch on Jordan Poole most likely played a role in the early exit from the playoffs.
“We’re not playing right now – because when you speak about the fouling, when you speak about all of the slippage that we had as a team and not being able to come together – none of those things happen if that (punch) doesn’t happen,” Green said. “Because the voice that I am and the departments that I lead this team in, there was a ton of slippage due to me sitting back. Me not saying anything, me trying to allow that situation to play itself and giving it time to heal. But while you’re giving it all that time to heal, guess what?”
“I would say probably by February I started to feel like myself and speak more,” Draymond revealed. “But guess what? That was just five months of the season when slippage had been occurring. By February, if that slippage has been going on, you are who you are at that point. You’ve built those habits, you’ve built bad habits. That is who you are now. To try and correct them then, it’s like OK, you may get a little bit better – we did end up in the second round of the playoffs – but not at a championship level.”
Rumors have circulated that Draymond molly whopping Poole was the nail in the coffin for his time with the warriors. However, head coach Steve Kerr recently stated that without Green, the Warriors aren’t a championship-caliber team. Essentially, Steve Kerr let it be that if it came down to it, Draymond would not be leaving the team.
It will be interesting to see what moves the Warriors make in the offseason. For now, you can watch Draymond break down the aftermath of punching Jordan Poole below.
