The Golden State Warriors' decision to just fine and not suspend Draymond Green for punching Jordan Poole has received plenty of criticisms online. Many even compared it to the Kevin Durant situation back in 2018 when the team handed Green a one-game suspension for yelling at the superstar forward.

Sure enough, many couldn't get their heads around on the shocking difference in the way the Warriors handled both incidents involving Green. For his part, former NBA head coach Jeff Van Gundy offered his take on the matter, highlighting the harsh reality that Poole is not KD and that the Dubs are only doing what they believe is the best course of action for the organization.

“The Warriors are not running an etiquette school, and they're not running a morality school. So they are going to do what's in their best interest to try to keep winning,” Van Gundy said. “I heard people say ‘Well they suspended Draymond Green for yelling at Durant for one game, why would they make a lesser one here.' That's because Durant was more important. He was a great, great player, and they were trying to make a play not only to tell Durant of his importance, but also to re-sign him.

“They view this situation differently. These are hard situations because you're not trying to do what's right for Poole, you're not even trying to teach Green a lesson. You're trying to do what's best for your team.”

Jeff Van Gundy basically echoed the same sentiment Shannon Sharpe had earlier after the Warriors announced Draymond Green's punishment. As the football Hall of Famer and now FOX Sports analyst emphasized, the Dubs basically showed that Kevin Durant's feelings are more important than Jordan Poole getting punched.

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Foer what it's worth, it has been reported that the Warriors decided not to suspend Green in consideration of their ring night in the season-opener. Had it been in any other part of the season, he would reportedly have been handed a suspension.

Poole also reportedly gave his approval on the matter, though clearly, what the Warriors did is bad optics,