In case you missed it, Stephen A. Smith previously revealed that Draymond Green delivered such a vicious blow on Jordan Poole that he ended up knocking out his Golden State Warriors teammate. Looking at the video and seeing how Poole's body seemed to drop as soon as Green hit him, it does seem that Stephen A.'s sources are actually correct here.
Despite these shocking developments, however, NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal has come to the defense of the embattled Warriors talisman. Speaking on a recent episode of The Big Podcast with Shaq, the Hall of Fame big man could not help but call out all of Draymond's haters (h/t ClutchPoints on Twitter):
“All you people messing with Draymond: Mind your damn business,” Shaq said. “… You guys that don't know anything about competitive sports, you have no idea what you're talking about. So just shut the hell up and be a fan. … This happens all the time.”
O'Neal then brought up the narrative about Warriors head coach Steve Kerr once getting into a fistfight with former Chicago Bulls teammate Michael Jordan during practice, and how that incident actually brought them closer together. Shaq also revealed that he too has “touched a lot of people up” during his heyday. According to Shaq, this is all just part of the game.
It was at that point when the Los Angeles Lakers icon revealed his theory as to why Green ended up punching his own teammate right in the face:
“Let's just speculate why [Poole] got touched up,” Shaq said. “… When you win a championship, the others come back they come back different. … Especially if it was an ‘other' who played a big part in you winning. Jordan Poole definitely played a big part in them winning. So, I think a lot of times those people try to check their pecking order status. The pecking order status on that team belongs to three people: Draymond, Klay, and Steph.
“… I think the young fellow was getting real choppy, especially (since) he's about to get that contract extension. … Talking a little too greasy to Draymond and Draymond had to check him. This happens.”
This isn't the first time we've heard this particular narrative, with previous reports also suggesting that the smack talk between Green and Poole was indeed contract-related.
Either way, this is a pretty hot take from Shaq, and it will likely draw polarizing reactions from Warriors and NBA fans everywhere.
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