NBA Executive Says Draymond Green Punching Jordan Poole Has Caused Chemistry Issues On Warriors

The Golden State Warriors may have won the 2022 NBA championship, but they have been an inconsistent team this season and are currently 22-23 on the season after their recent loss to the Boston Celtics.

Prior to the beginning of the season, Draymond Green was involved in an incident where he punched Jordan Poole. There's no doubt that this was unacceptable, and a recent report from Jack Simone of Heavy revealed that the incident has "greatly affected" the chemistry of the Warriors.

The Warriors are currently sitting at 22-22 on the season, good for just sixth place in the Western Conference standings. And according to sources who spoke with Sean Deveney of Heavy Sports, the incident has greatly affected Golden State’s chemistry.

“Poole is a professional. He is a young guy, he can be emotional, he does not back down – that’s one reason why he got into it with Draymond to begin with – but he is not going to hurt the team,” a Western Conference executive told Deveney. “Draymond has free agency to worry about in July, he can’t be an a**hole anymore, not this year. So, nothing is brewing between the two, they are not getting into fights every day. But you talk to people there, and the whole thing still is sitting over the whole team, the camaraderie is not the same, the way guys open up to one another, that is not there, and you can’t force it to be there. You talk to guys who have been there a while, and there is a coldness that that team does not usually have.”

Hopefully, this situation improves in the future. There is no doubt that the Warriors have looked out of sorts this season, but perhaps we'll see them get back to winning ways during the second half of the season.

Draymond Green Has Taken Responsibility For Warriors Struggles This Year

In a recent episode of the Draymond Green Show, we saw Green take responsibility for the Warriors' struggles during the season. He admitted that the incident with Jordan Poole has affected his ability to be a leader in the locker room.

I think a lot of our shortcomings this year is my fault... I have not been the leader that I am, and that I need to be for this team... The reason that I have not been that leader is also my fault... we all know with the young Wolverine brother JP... I've kind of had to walk a fine line of not being Draymond. When I'm not really being myself that's not the best thing for this team. Where we've struggled is accountability... on the defensive end... on the offensive end. That's my role on this team and I fell short in that area.

It is true that the Warriors have struggled on both ends this season. They are 16th in defensive rating as of right now, and clearly, this is an area they need to improve on. Offensively, they are 18th with a 113.6 rating. Clearly, something needs to change, and the first step is Draymond Green stepping up as a leader once again.

Hopefully, we see the Warriors figure things out. They still have the talent to get to the Finals and win a championship, and the Warriors will likely be a dangerous team when it comes to the playoffs this year.