Following an altercation at practice with teammate Jordan Poole, Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green was thrown into the spotlight of the NBA. Poole and Green came face-to-face with one another and Green ended up throwing a punch at the young guard during a practice last week that resulted in the All-Star forward stepping away from the team last week with no timetable laid out for his return.
On Tuesday night following their preseason game against the Portland Trail Blazers, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr talked about Green and said that no suspension will be handed down from the organization for the veteran’s actions.
Instead, this whole situation was handled internally with the Warriors fining Draymond Green an undisclosed amount. Kerr also stated that Green is set to rejoin the team on Thursday, October 13 ahead of their season-opener and championship celebration on October 18 against the Los Angeles Lakers.
As a result, Green is expected to play against the Lakers on opening night.
When he stated that he was taking some time away from the team following this altercation with Poole, many were left questioning when exactly Green would return, as he mentioned that he had not been in the right headspace recently.
Since apologizing to Jordan Poole, Poole’s family and the entire team, Green has taken some time to himself away from the organization and it appears as everyone is ready to put this situation behind them.
“I am a very flawed human being,” Green said in a press conference on Oct. 8. “I know those flaws better than anyone… I failed as a leader. I failed as a man.”
The Warriors were not pleased that the video of the incident at practice was leaked to the public, which definitely resulted in this situation spiraling even more than it had. According to ESPN, the organization immediately took “every legal course of action” to discover how this video was made public.
It is unknown whether or not Draymond Green’s actions will have consequences on this team’s morale and mentality in the locker room, but the Warriors are set to be the main team to beat in the league starting in less than a week when the 2022-23 NBA season tips off.