Richard Jefferson believes the Draymond Green-Jordan Poole situation was waiting to happen, ‘seen behavior from both…’

Richard Jefferson believes the Green-Poole situation was bound to happen

Green spent a few days away from the team and was also fined by the organization for his actions.

Poole and Green shared the locker room for one year after the incident, but things were never the same for the two.

Their problems started to affect the Warriors and they lost in the second round of the 2022-23 playoffs to the LA Lakers.

Poole was eventually traded to the Washington Wizards in 2023. He struggled in his first season as the star of the team, but got back to his best in the 2024-25 season.

Richard Jefferson believes that two years separated from the incident and having seen both the players’ behavior since, the situation was bound to happen.

He said: “I don’t know Jordan Poole in that space, but we could see there’s a level of like ‘Hey Jordan we gotta clean this up, you’re a talented player, you have the ability to be an All-Star, but you also have to be a leader first,’ and we’ve seen Draymond struggle.

“So the fact that we’ve seen behavior from both of them over the two years they weren’t teammates that would allude a clash was very very easy.”

Poole and Green had contrasting personalities

As players, Poole and Green were both vital to the Warriors roster due to what they brought to the team.

The 2022 Warriors needed Poole to be that scoring punch off the bench and take some weight off Curry’s shoulders, while Green was pivotal to their overall game.

However, Poole is a fun-loving person and likes to joke around even when he is playing. Green, on the other hand, becomes a completely different person when he is on the court and Jefferson believes that is what could have triggered the situation.

“This is what 2-3 years removed, we haven’t heard from Jordan Poole about the situation, we heard from Draymond, but everybody’s got their own version of the story and then there’s the truth.

“You’re no longer teammates, you were champions together, I think we’ve seen Draymond continue to navigate some of his frustration on the court in other ways,” the former NBA player said.

“We’ve seen Jordan Poole act out of pocket on a basketball court, that should be checked, even when he’s with the Wizards. Some of the things that he was doing on the court and his behavior is the behavior of a basketball player that needs to be checked. Talented player, NBA champion, no question.”

Since the incident, Green has made a lot of comments about the punch, but Poole has remained silent.

The 26-year-old moved to the New Orleans Pelicans in the offseason and will meet Green three times next season with his new team.

He faced the Warriors when he was with the Wizards, but now that Poole is back in the Western Conference, a rivalry could form due to his history with Green.