Steve Kerr gets 'blunt' while opening up about Draymond Green-Jordan Poole punch

Following a tough second-round playoff exit for the Golden State Warriors, head coach Steve Kerr was an open book of sorts while speaking with the media. 

One key topic that Kerr addressed numerous times during his exit interview this week was arguably the NBA's biggest preseason storyline - Draymond Green punching Warriors teammate Jordan Poole.

As The Athletic's Anthony Slater revealed, it was pointed out to Kerr during his interview that he had referenced Green's punch of Poole three times. 

Arguably the most interesting aspect of this was that Kerr took a head-on approach to the topic and addressed how he believed the Warriors lost some of their chemistry this year due to it.

“Some of that (chemistry) was lost this year for sure,” Kerr said. “There’s no hiding from it. The incident with Draymond and Jordan at the beginning of the year played a role in that. It’s hard for that not to impact a team … Any time some trust is lost, it makes the process much more difficult and there was some trust lost. That’s as blunt as I can be.”

From the outside looking in, it's nearly impossible to even push back on Kerr's assessment, as the defending champions finished the season at 44-38 and sixth in the Western Conference. 

The Warriors were no more than two games above .500 at the end of any single month until the end of March. They were able to push up the standings thanks to a five-game win streak that began in February and a three-game win streak at the end of March.

The impact of the Green and Poole situation didn't appear to negatively affect the former's game, as Green averaged 8.5 points, 7.2 rebounds and 6.8 assists while shooting a career-best 52.7 percent from the field. As for Poole, he averaged career-highs in points (20.4) and assists (4.5), but his field goal percentage dipped slightly and his three-point percentage fell to the lowest it's been since the 2019-20 season at 33.6 percent.

Poole had a solid year, but his postseason left a lot to be desired, and it culminated in a locker room of "tension" after the Warriors fell into a 3-1 hole against the Los Angeles Lakers in the second round of the playoffs. As NBCS Sports' Kerith Burke detailed, Poole was "very frustrated," and all eyes and ears were on Poole's postgame interview.

Poole averaged just 10.3 points per game and shot 25.4 percent from 3-point range in 13 playoff games, with his struggles a constant conversation among analysts, fans, and insiders over that span. The question now becomes how the Warriors proceed, as Poole signed a four-year, $128M contract extension this offseason.

If the Warriors keep both Green and Poole, it's going to be interesting to see what Kerr and company plan to do in order to restore the chemistry the team had just one year ago when they won the title. Time didn't heal all wounds it seems, so the Warriors could be in for a rocky few months here.