Draymond fined for Poole punch, not suspended; returning Thursday originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
Despite the Warriors picking up a 131-98 blowout win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday at Chase Center, the buzz around the team still is over the altercation between Draymond Green and Jordan Poole.
Green landed a punch on the 23-year-old during the Warriors' practice last Wednesday, and following the game against Portland, coach Steve Kerr officially announced the team's punishment for Green.
Kerr revealed that Green has been fined, but not suspended, and will return to practice Thursday and play in the preseason finale against the Denver Nuggets on Friday.
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"So [general manager Bob Myers] and I know our players extremely well and we feel like this is the best way, after assessing everything, for us to move forward," Kerr told reporters postgame.
"It's never easy. No matter what decision you make in a situation like this, it's not going to be perfect. This is the biggest crisis that we've ever had since I've been coaching. It's really serious stuff. We're not perfect. Our team isn't perfect."
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Although Green only will have to face a fine and not a suspension, the damage that the altercation has done to the Warriors' culture might be more significant. As a result, Kerr stated the team has a lot of work to do throughout the 2022-23 season.
"We take great pride in what we've built here, the continuity, the culture, and there's no way around it," Kerr added. "That culture has been damaged by this incident. Have to work to repair that. You have to find that vibe again every day.
"So we got to work hard internally to try to regenerate the vibe that we need because we know we've lived this. You don't win championships on talent alone. It takes chemistry. It takes collective will and a trust and that has to be rebuilt right now."
While the Warriors worked to figure out what the fallout from the altercation would be, Kerr credited how Poole himself handled the situation.
Despite his age, Kerr appreciated Poole's maturity, who has not been fazed by much in his career.
"This is a pretty special young guy, and it was already reported after the incident," Kerr continued. "He worked out for another hour on his shot, came out, whatever it was, a couple of nights later, and scored 15 straight points at one point.
"I think just he's cool. Not much fazes him. And I think that's part of why we're going the way we're going because we know that he's fine. We know that he's willing to move forward. He's willing to basically get back out on the floor with Draymond and go to work."
The Warriors now will attempt to move past this incident and the preseason as Golden State has its eyes on the home opener against the Los Angeles Lakers on Oct. 18 at Chase Center.
