Video Of Draymond Green Punching Jordan Poole Leaked, Suspension Possible?
Less than 48 hours after it was first reported that Draymond Green and Jordan Poole had a physical altercation at Golden State Warriors practice, video of the incident has been leaked. TMZ has released the footage, which shows Green punch Poole in the face Wednesday morning.
Green and Poole can be seen exchanging words in the video, though it's unknown what the teammates were saying to one another. Green crowded Poole before being pushed away, to which the forward responded by punching the 23-year-old and sending him to the ground.
Poole didn't seem to sustain serious injury and continued to practice after the fight. There's speculation that it might be hard for the NBA to abstain from stepping in and suspending Green after watching the video.
"These things happen. Nobody likes it, we don't condone it, but it happens," Warriors General Manager Bob Myers said at a press conference Thursday. "Draymond apologized to the team. Jordan was there in the room... As far as any suspension, punishment, fine, we will handle that internally."
According to Yahoo Sports, the fact that both players are up for potential contract extensions played a role in the fight. Poole is expected to sign an extension that is worth more than Green's current deal. Green has a player option for next season, and the Warriors aren't likely to given the former Defensive Player of the Year a new contract this year.
Meyers doesn't believe that money had anything to do with the fight.
"It's unfortunate, I'm not going to deny it," Myers said. "It'll take some time to move through, but we'll move through it and move forward. And I'm confident that we will... This isn't our first thing that's happened, first sense of adversity. We've been through some of this before. Don't like going through it but it's part of the NBA and it's part of sports."
This isn't the first spat between Green and a teammate that became public. Green and Kevin Durant got into an argument during a game in November 2018 that spilled into the locker room afterward. Amid rumors that Durant was headed to New York in free agency the following year, Green reportedly dared the Warriors' top scorer to leave Golden State.
Green was suspended by the team for one game.
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