[Jordan Poole Is Going His Own Way](https://www.theringer.com/nba/2023/10/19/23922747/jordan-poole-washington-wizards-2023-nba-season-draymond-green-warriors)
On the Draymond punch and Kerr trying to mend things:
> In the days, weeks, and months after Green and Poole’s training-camp scuffle, their relationship changed. Just before the Warriors’ season opener against the Lakers, Green, in partnership with Turner Sports, released a mini documentary in which the forward expressed regret about the situation, but didn’t offer an apology. The divide widened as Green, who declined comment for this story, accepted several invitations to speak on the situation during last season, but never spoke with Poole directly, angering many within Poole’s inner circle. According to Warriors officials, head coach Steve Kerr made several attempts to convince Green to take Poole to dinner, to smooth over their relationship, but Green declined. Those around the situation now believe the lack of disciplinary action—other than an undisclosed fine—and the inability of anyone on the Warriors to repair the fractured relationship soured the team’s season. Poole became isolated, left to balance his personal goals with the team’s, widening the chasm between the Warriors core and the young prospects tasked with prolonging the dynasty. Poole’s determination to prove he was worthy of carrying the torch led to on-court mistakes that left teammates and coaches befuddled. And after a dismal postseason performance for Poole and a second-round exit for the Warriors, the organization began to explore opportunities to trade him.
KD talking about Poole hitting him up:
> As Poole gained experience in the league, he also sought tutelage from outside Golden State’s orbit. “JP would hit me randomly like, ‘Yo, what kind of food you be eating before a game?’ or ‘What was you thinking on this shot right here?’” said Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant, who played three years in Golden State but never overlapped with Poole. “You could just kind of sense that love of the game and guys who just enjoy figuring out the nuances of the game and the details. And Jordan was like that, always asking questions on foot placement, ball placement, hand placement, all that little stuff that the nerdy guys like me tend to think about.”
On Kerr giving Poole feedback in private:
> The following month, during a matchup against the Thunder, the Warriors turned the ball over in the waning moments of the first half after Green, appearing frustrated at not receiving a pass from Poole, gave up on the play. As these moments accumulated, Warriors coaches scratched their heads about how to get through to the young guard. Team sources say Kerr began to give his feedback to Poole between games, away from the team, hoping his messaging would be received more constructively in private.
> In practice sessions, Poole’s trash talk grated on his veteran teammates, who felt he hadn’t earned the right to be brash, even though his style seemed to match the mindset that fueled the start of Golden State’s run a decade ago.
Steph and Klay invited Poole to a workout after the trade, and Steph on if he would try to help mend his relationship with Dray:
> But even though he’s moved on from Golden State, Poole hasn’t stopped seeking tutelage from his former teammates, who know better than anyone what it means to lead a team. Shortly after the trade, Curry reached out to Poole, inviting him back to Northern California to train with Curry and Thompson at a high school gym in the South Bay. Both future Hall of Famers were unsure whether Poole would accept. “There was always a fear that he might not show up,” Curry says. “Just because he wanted to kind of be on his own in that respect.”
> In August, Poole obliged, enjoying one last workout with the fellas, and receiving a message on how to approach his new journey. “The biggest piece of advice was, he’s got a great opportunity to spread his wings and figure out what his version of leadership looks like,” Curry says. “Building a culture with a team that he’s obviously starting from scratch, and you can go in there and set the tone for the direction that he wants the team to go.”
> “I can text them, call them. Obviously fans of them,” Poole says of Thompson and Curry. “We put in so much work, and experienced the highest level of basketball together. And that’s stuff that you don’t lose. Good people. It was just like little brother went to a different school. Little brother just went to a different school and he’s doing his own thing.”
> As for the Splash Brothers lending a hand to mend fences between Green and Poole?
> “There’s always that hope,” Curry admits. “But it’s two grown men that can figure that out. They know where we stand on it and how I see both of them individually. So, will I facilitate something? Probably not, but I definitely hope that there can be some kind of, maybe, meeting each other where they’re at. Because life is short.”
Glad to see Poole still has a positive relationship with Steph and Klay. I hope he does well in Washington
by InfernoBA
16 Comments
Draymond insecurity is just part of his yin and yang I guess. But he really needed to do more. In any case, they changed the cap rules after the Poole contract was signed and unless he had killed it last year, I think they had to move off it either way.
Yea I remember Dray and his talking heads going into overdrive on the PR campaign after the video of the punch got released. Poole was quiet about it while Dray wouldn’t stop talking about it so disrespectfully. I wouldn’t fuck with Dray after that either. It’s about more than just the punch now.
This story is getting old! New season starts in 2 days… let’s enjoy the present.
Worth remembering that this is Poole/Pooles teams version of events
Why can’t they just move on like for real this stuff was last year
I’m here for the basketball and stay for the drama. Can’t wait till D.C comes and play the dubs at home.
Happy we are taking a break from the Klay hate to hate on Draymond.
Sorry but the blame has to be on Kerr and Bob Myers to some degree. Twice they had Draymond cause major problems internally (once with kd, then poole), and both times they failed to deal with it effectively. Failure of leadership.
The bottom line is Steph is not ready to consider a future without Klay and Dray, so management had to make decisions about Poole with that constraint.
Logan Murdock puff piece…nothing here that we didn’t already know. Nice job throwing Draymond under the bus though, he will never reach MT or AS level amongst Warriors insiders. Guess what’s why he’s with The Ringer!
Basically they’re two grown men who can figure it out themselves and no one wants to be the mom who forces them to get along
As Draymond transitions from all star fluke to someone that will be fighting for minutes, he tries to compensate for it with his mouth. Honestly none of this would matter either way if Draymond just played well. The league tolerates a lot of shit from good players. This is nothing. It’s the fact that Draymond now sucks that makes this all incredibly stupid.
Nothing draymond could have done after the incident that would have changed anything. Poole is where he needs to be, which is not on this roster.
Honestly, I don’t know about all the chemistry stuff. I really think most of our issues were basketball related. Poole is just really horrible on defense and it fucked up our team last year.
None of us outside of the org know exactly what went down.
I don’t know what was happening behind the scenes, but steph as the leader, maybe not the vocal leader, but the face of the team and someone everyone loves and respects, that’s the time where he has to get in both draymond and pooles ears and broker a peace to get the team back together.
Draymond leads the team, but when dray fucks up, which he did, that’s when steph needs to be the voice of leadership and put things back together.
If steph went to Dray and was like “hey man, we can’t be fighting between us, the energy is all fucked up and we trying to win another one, you gotta apologize to Jordan, that’s your little brother.” Dray might have taken that to heart.