Draymond Green and Jordan Poole found themselves trending for all the wrong reasons this week.
On Wednesday, word broke that a scuffle had erupted at a Golden State Warriors practice between Green and Poole. Details were scarce, but all sides tried to play the matter off as something that wasn’t a big deal.
Two days later, on Friday morning, TMZ posted a video of the fight.
Needless to say, the visual of Green destroying a guy tens of pounds lighter and a decade his junior didn’t endear him to many folks.
Understandably, in addition to the obvious queries about where the Warriors go from here and how Green will be punished, another question began circulating around Twitter: how much did TMZ ultimately pay to get the footage?
Ex- TMZ host Van Lathan Jr. answered that question not long after.
“I’d guess between 50-100k,” he tweeted. “If the seller was smart it would be 100. If it’s some dumb idiot they got talked into 50. It’s easily worth 150. Not sure what the finances over there are looking like rn tho.”
The Warriors are in a dicey position right now. Had the video not leaked, maybe this situation could have sorted itself out. But the fact that it’s out there now, and with the image of Green dropping Poole fresh in everyone’s minds, this isn’t going away.
Head coach Steve Kerr inadvertently admitted last week that veterans had been messing with Poole for some time. Clearly some sort of beef exists there.
What makes it a little more complicated, however, is that Stephen Curry came out this week and made it clear that he wasn’t one of the vets who had a bone to pick with Poole.
Having Curry in his corner is huge for Poole.
Obviously Poole is something of a unique young talent, both on and off the court. Between his obvious love for the ladies and undeniable swag, he has developed a loyal following.
If things can’t be sorted between Poole and the Warriors, one other squad is eagerly waiting in the wings to steal him away.
Yikes. https://t.co/NuXnB6RhGN
— Game 7 (@game7__) October 7, 2022
The next few weeks will be telling. If Golden State punishes Green and Poole expresses a desire to move forward, then perhaps all parties involved can get past this situation.
Should that not occur, don’t be shocked if one of either Poole or Green finds themselves in a different uniform before the end of the 2022-23 NBA season.
Related: Charissa Thompson’s Thursday Night Football Photos Go Viral
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
