SAN FRANCISCO — Draymond Green returned to practice Thursday determined to put his altercation with Jordan Poole in the past while the Warriors look forward to contending for another championship.
Still, Green isn’t sure whether he and Jordan Poole will be able to fully reconcile after the 32-year-old forward punched the 23-year-old guard in the face at a practice last week. Green again acknowledges it’s on Poole’s terms whether the two can get back to where they were before the mid-practice fight.
“That’s not up to me, nor do I think there’s much relevance,” Green said Thursday. “We both know how to play basketball and that’s the most important thing to us. We’re paid to do a job. And we’re going to come and do that job to the best of our ability. We want to continue to win.”
Poole and Green were tight before the incident Oct. 5, with Green looking after Poole almost like a big brother. Green requested to have Poole’s locker by his and would check in with the former No. 28 overall pick when he was struggling and playing in the G League bubble.
But that’s all seemingly changed since the scuffle.
It’s hard to know where Poole stands in the aftermath of the punch and subsequent release of the video as he’s yet to share his side of the story. His teammates have praised how Poole has handled the situation behind closed doors.
Green seemed confident, though, that the incident wouldn’t have a lingering impact on the Warriors as they set out to defend their crown.
“As far as us moving forward, Jordan is a professional, I’m a professional, we have a job to do,” Green said. “We both have experienced a lot of winning over the course of our lives and we know what that takes, and so we’re going to do just that what it takes to win.”
Green admitted he was wrong and publicly apologized to Poole Saturday after a video of the 10-year veteran forcefully slugging the fourth-year guard went viral. The Warriors and Green mutually agreed that it was for the best that he took time away.
After a week of “deep conversations” among players, coaches and front-office staff, the Warriors welcomed Green back to practice Thursday and it started to feel like things were getting back to normal, according to coach Steve Kerr and Kevon Looney.
“Great to have Draymond back,” Kerr said, “We had a good vibe.”
“There was joy in the gym,” Looney said. “Felt like a normal day to me. Things happen and we kind of move on pretty fast. I think that’s what makes our team special.”
Still, this incident won’t just blow over like a dandelion in the wind now that Green’s back into the mix.
It’ll take time for Green — with his actions — to mend what was broken by the altercation.
It’s not a matter of rebuilding trust among his teammates, Green said, but rather ensuring that team morale remains high. Kevin Durant recently told ESPN that he believes the Warriors’ long-established culture and “Strength in Numbers” mantra has prepared them to weather storms like the current public controversy they’re facing. And Green also has faith that they share a strong enough bond to keep things afloat.
“Your camaraderie is built on who you have on the team to the core and I know at the core of what we built, we have great guys we have competitors we have guys who want to win,” Green said. “When you have that, I think camaraderie is a strength of ours, and I don’t think that will be taken away because we have an incident take place. No matter how good, no matter how bad, I think that goes deeper than what happens on a day-to-day or what could happen on one particular day.”
The altercation brought into question Green’s long-term future with the Warriors.
Green said at media day last month that he didn’t expect an extension to happen before the start of the season and insinuated after practice Thursday that it wasn’t his decision to enter this season uncertain about his future. He’s set to make $25.8 million this season and has a player option worth $27.6 million for the 2023-24 campaign.
Green could be suiting up with the Warriors for the final time this season. In the meantime, he said he’s not going to let what might come next affect the present.
“My general view of the future here is that I’m here this year trying to win a championship,” Green said. “We have a championship to win, I’m not one to let conversations about my future or what I’m going to do next year or what someone else is going to do — I don’t get off into that.”
