Jordan Poole was traded by the Golden State Warriors to the Washington Wizards almost as soon as the NBA offseason commenced.
It was a stunning turn of events, given that Golden State had just given Poole a $100 million contract extension one year earlier.
Obviously a big wrench was thrown into the mix at the beginning of last season when Poole was punched in the face by Draymond Green amid a fight that occurring during practice.
Their relationship never recovered – and it poisoned the locker room to a pretty intense degree.
According to NBA insider Ric Bucher, Poole rejected Green’s later overtures at making amends.
.@RicBucher had some interesting things to say about what happened before and after the Draymond/JP altercation 👀 pic.twitter.com/DNBheXVbst
— 95.7 The Game (@957thegame) July 5, 2023
“Jordan was on a lot of players’ nerves way before that, including Klay and Steph,” Bucher said this week.
“And Draymond was finally the one who tipped the scale and went overboard. … After he did it, Draymond tried everything possible to remedy the situation, and Jordan would have none of it. I’m just looking at it as Jordan, you have an opportunity to learn and exceed Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors.”
Bucher didn’t stop there, though.
“You can’t get over this situation with Draymond when Draymond’s gonna be gone at some point, and this is gonna be yours. You couldn’t see the big picture and made sure that the elephant was still in the room,” he continued.
It’s hard to ignore how ugly the divorce between the Warriors and Poole has gotten in recent weeks.
Stories have emerged about Klay Thompson hating Poole. Head coach Steve Kerr’s message regarding the trade was pretty self-explanatory.
Vanessa’s photos with Pau go viral. https://t.co/LPsB8LnCDq
— Game 7 (@game7__) July 6, 2023
It’s all quite shocking, given how low-key the Warriors typically have been over the past decade aside from the Kevin Durant brouhaha.
Maybe Poole being shipped off elsewhere is the best thing for all parties involved.
How will the Warriors’ decision to pick Green over Poole in their little feud ultimately dictate the franchise’s future in both the short-term and long-term? Time will tell.
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A graduate from the University of Texas, Anthony Amador has been credentialed to cover the Houston Texans, Dallas Cowboys, San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks and high school games all over the Lone Star State. Currently, his primary beats are the NBA, MLB, NFL and UFC.
