Why Draymond calls not celebrating Poole contract ‘one of worst feelings’ originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
There are a handful of moments Draymond Green regrets from his NBA career. And he will be the first to tell you what they are.
One of which was the infamous incident with Jordan Poole where he punched the young Warriors guard after a heated exchange in practice, resulting in Green’s temporary suspension from the team and a fractured relationship with Poole that Green himself believes negatively impacted the Warriors‘ 2022-23 NBA season.
Green was joined by longtime teammate and Warriors center Kevon Looney on the latest episode of “The Draymond Green Show,” where he continued to reflect on the incident and admitted that not being around to support Poole after the guard received a four-year, $140 million Warriors contract extension on Oct. 15 — 10 days after the initial incident — still hurts him to this day.
“One of the worst feelings I’ve ever had as an NBA player, was seeing him get a contract and knowing that I f*cked it off and I couldn’t celebrate his contract with him”
—@Money23Green on seeing the success of Jordan Poole pic.twitter.com/mFA7g4Xb9x
— The Volume (@TheVolumeSports) June 10, 2024
“When I took JP under my wing and to see him have success was the best thing for me,” Green told Looney. “One of the worst feelings I’ve ever had as an NBA basketball player was seeing him get a contract and knowing that I f–ked it off and I couldn’t celebrate his contract with him. I think he had a party or something with his people in San Francisco or something. And like to not be able to go celebrate that with him …
“And I f–ked it off, I did. I ain’t gonna sit here and act like I didn’t. I f–ked it off. I take it on the chin, it is what it is, I don’t hide from my f–k ups just like I don’t hide from my wins. When I talk to y’all about the wins I have and I tell you ‘don’t let us win another f–king championship’ and then I tell you about it, I’m the same way with my losses. And I messed that one up, but it hurts.”
Poole, after an up-and-down 2022-23 season, was traded to the Washington Wizards last offseason in a deal that brought veteran guard Chris Paul to Golden State. In his first season with Washington, Poole averaged 17.4 points, 2.7 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game on 41.3-percent shooting from the field and 32.6 percent from 3-point range.
Even after Poole and the Warriors went their separate ways, with the 24-year-old finding a new home as a featured piece on an upstart Wizards team, Green still regrets his actions and wishes he could have been around to celebrate such a big moment in his mentee’s career.
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