Draymond praises Poole’s growth with Wizards despite exchange of taunts originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
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Even years after their heated altercation as Warriors teammates, Draymond Green and Jordan Poole appear to still be not be the best of friends on different teams on separate coasts.
But that didn’t stop Golden State’s veteran forward from praising the growth of the young guard in his second season with the Washington Wizards.
“He’s playing better. He’s playing a lot better,” Green told reporters after the game. Warriors victory 125-112 over the Wizards on Monday at Capital One Arena. “I think his shot selection, you know, coming into a new situation, I’ve never done it, but I’ve seen it a lot, as a competitor, you just want to show everything you can do. You want to show that you’re the guy.
“And I think last year he pushed a lot, he just wanted it to happen as hard as he could. And this year he’s a lot more settled. He’s not making some of the shots he made last year. They were bad shots. I don’t think it was a “It’s a matter of selfishness, I think it was a matter of wanting to show people that I can have my own team, that I can come here and be successful, that ends up working against you. But this year he’s doing much better.”
Poole, who was selected by Golden State in the first round of the 2019 NBA Draft, was traded to the Wizards during the 2023 offseason in exchange for veteran guard Chris Paul in a blockbuster move that surprised the league, just one season after having been his best statistical campaign in the NBA and two after undoubtedly helping Golden State win its fourth NBA title in eight years.
The shocking exchange also occurred less than nine months after Green punched Poole during a close Warriors practice, and video of the incident was leaked to social media.
Players and coaches later admitted that the chemistry was never the same throughout the 2022-23 season, when the then-defending champion Warriors fell to the Los Angeles Lakers in the second round of the Western Conference playoffs.
While Poole, Green and the Warriors seemingly moved on from the situation, Monday’s game might have proven otherwise. Poole and Green taunted each other during the confrontation, with Poole pointing first at Green after hitting a three-pointer. Green later returned the favor and pointed out his former teammate after a Steph Curry 3-pointer at halftime.
Beyond all the antics, Green acknowledged the growth of the 25-year-old, who finished the game with 24 points with 8 of 20 shots, with one rebound, three assists, three steals, four blocks and one turnover in 34 minutes.
“He had a turnover tonight. That speaks to the patience he’s playing with now,” Green said. “So I think he’s doing a really good job of adjusting now and letting the game come to him, not necessarily chasing it like he did last year. But you’d rather have a guy get after him and go for it than a guy who comes and says: ‘Oh, I don’t have it.’
“So I think now he’s starting to show more of who he is and what he’s become in this league compared to last year, he just wanted it so much. I think he’s doing a much better job this year.”
While Green may not embrace Poole the way Warriors coach Steve Kerr, Curry and others do when they meet, his respect for Poole as a player is certainly there: deep, deep below.
