Jordan Poole is set to return to the Chase Center to play against the Golden State Warriors for the first time since he was traded this summer. The Wizards are set to play against the Warriors on Friday evening. The Athletic's Anthony Slater penned a piece entitled, “‘Hate the way it ended for Jordan’: Poole, Warriors reflect on Golden State tenure and its end”.
Slater's article gets viewpoints from several veterans on the team about Poole's tenure with the Dubs but particularly focuses on Draymond Green's altercation with Poole that ultimately led to his trade.
Regarding the punishment and fallout after Green punching Poole, Curry says that those who aren't privy to inner organizational conversations don't really know what's going on. Green's punishment was only a week away from the team and an undisclosed fine but no suspension as many suspected in October 2022. Green was also allowed to participate in the Warrior's Ring Ceremony and play in the subsequent opening night game against the Lakers.
Curry said in the article, “Unless you were in this building, you can always talk about what could’ve been punishment-wise. But unless you were in here, having these conversations daily and everything that we tried to keep in the house that then got out, it made everything a lot more complicated. We obviously will be scrutinized for whatever happens. We did the best we could with a very hard situation. Between them two, that’s whatever it’s going to be between them two.”
Kevon Looney, a veteran big that's pivitol to three of the Warrior's championship wins, echoed Curry's sentiments about the Green-Poole altercation.
“Situation like that, there’s only so much you can do,” Looney said. “Especially with all the coverage we get on our team, all the media and everything that’s going on, the video getting out. I feel like we handled it as best we could. You know, Draymond and JP were professional. They didn’t have no more blow-ups during the season. They might have felt awkward, but they didn’t let it affect their play on the court. They still played hard. They still played together.”
Kerr's assessment, however, differs slightly from Curry and Loony's. Although Kerr also believes that they did the best with the circumstances given, he also believes that they could've done more in hindsight to address what occurred to Jordan Poole.
“I look back at that, and I hate that it happened. I know that in my heart, that when (the punch) happened, we handled it the best way we thought we could handle it. But in hindsight — and hindsight is always 20/20 — we could have done better for sure. I just hate the way it ended for Jordan here, because he is a huge success story. For us and for him, this was a great marriage. He helped us win a title. We helped him, you know, become a champion and a guy who signed a big contract, life-changing contract. It was all wildly successful. But I hate the way it ended.”
With Draymond currently being suspended indefinitely for his on-the-court actions this season, which included striking Jusef Nurkić in the Warriors's loss against the Suns, Jordan Poole's return to San Francisco represents a clear unaddressed problem in the Warriors locker room.
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