On Oct. 5 news broke of an altercation between Poole and Draymond Green during a routine team practice. The team released a statement that they are working on a solution internally.
A few days later, TMZ released a video clip of the altercation. In the video, you can see Draymond going toward Poole and exchanging words. Then Draymond struck Poole in the face. The video was leaked a few days later.
This situation raises many questions. The main one being how will this situation affect Draymond and Poole’s relationship. But also Draymond’s relationship with his teammates. Draymond is seen as the alpha dog on the team. He’s supposed to be there in your corner when a situation arises on the court. With this situation occurring it diminishes this role.
During his first interview after the incident, Draymond expressed his remorse regarding the punch. “ I was wrong for my actions that took place on Oct.5 and for that, I have apologized to my team. I have apologized to Jordan.”
Draymond continued, “With the video leaking, there is a huge embarrassment that comes with that not only for myself, but the embarrassment that Jordan has to deal with, the team has to deal with, the organization has to deal with and his family…Quite frankly if my mother saw that video, I know how she would feel…I apologize to his mother and father, his family & friends who care for him.”
About the situation Poole added, “You know, (Draymond) apologized. It was professional, and we plan on handling ourselves that way. We’re here to play basketball. And everybody in the locker room and on our team knows what it takes to win a championship, and we’re gonna do that on the court.”
The Warriors are currently in twelfth place in the Western Conference with a disappointing record of 4-7. Not an ideal start for the defending champs. Many of the early season struggles have been attributed to the bench units play. This unit is led by Poole who has been struggling to put up shots.The Warriors have 64 games remaining this season. There is more than enough time for the Warriors to find a consistent groove and to hash things out with Draymond.