Inside The Warriors

Steve Kerr Gets Honest On Viral Draymond Green-Jordan Poole Altercation

The Golden State Warriors head coach opened up about the viral incident between his players in 2022
Grant Mona|
Dec 2, 2022; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr speaks with shooting guard Jordan Poole (3) between plays against the Chicago Bulls during the fourth quarter at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images
Dec 2, 2022; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr speaks with shooting guard Jordan Poole (3) between plays against the Chicago Bulls during the fourth quarter at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images | Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images

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Golden State Warriors

The summer after winning the 2022 NBA Finals, the Golden State Warriors were in a position to be the favorite to repeat.

Shifty and athletic guard Jordan Poole had just earned a contract extension alongside playoff hero Andrew Wiggins, and it seemed as if everything was smooth sailing. Then, in October 2022, franchise legend and future Hall of Famer Draymond Green and Poole were involved in a physical altercation during training camp practice that went viral online.

The video of the incident was mysteriously leaked to the prominent outlet TMZ, and social media exploded.

The Warriors fined Green but did not suspend him following the incident, where he punched Poole, knocking him down.

Steve Kerr Comments on the Incident

Golden State Warriors, Draymond Green and Steve Ker
May 12, 2023; Los Angeles, California, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) walks past head coach Steve Kerr after fouling out in the second half of game six of the 2023 NBA playoffs at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

As the main topic of discussion surrounding the Warriors the entire 2022-2023 season, the team's chemistry certainly took a hit (no pun intended) and the punch is widely known to have negatively impacted the team throughout the year.

After the incident, head coach Steve Kerr went on multiple outlets talking about the incident, stating that the incident at the time was the “most angry” with Draymond Green in an interview on “The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz.”

Now, in a recent interview with Mikel Arteta on Aleda Collective, Kerr opened up about his feelings regarding the incident and how the team navigated it.

“Not only was there a fight that made it out to the media, but the actual video footage made it online, and it destroyed our team,” Kerr said.

Kerr explained that, “The video made it out, the player who was involved… the video was much more difficult than the fight itself, and we were trying to repair that all season long, and we never really were able to.”

Kerr Comments on What Happens Within a Team

Although the Warriors have been one of the best organizations in the NBA over the past decade, this incident was a stain on their reputation and internal business.

The fact that the video leaked made it extremely difficult for the players, coaches, and organization to move through the season without distractions.

Kerr continued, “I tried my best to handle it.”

But then, he continued to give another shocking revelation about what happens over the course of the season.

“There's usually, I would say, two or three fights a year on our team in basketball…it's not like the normal rules of society. You can't go to work, you know, in the office and punch somebody, but in you know, in basketball, you can kind of do that, and it's like it's okay after," Kerr exclaimed. 

Kerr's transparency when it comes to the Warriors and the teams he has been on may be shocking, but the insight is a fun window to peek into.

The Warriors traded Jordan Poole to the Washington Wizards in July 2023, but the incident still remains one of the most polarizing incidents of the last decade.

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Grant Mona
GRANT MONA

Grant Mona is a multimedia sports journalist based in Los Angeles, covering multiple teams. He is a co-host and producer on The Sporting Tribune Today on The BET Las Vegas, KIRN 670 in Southern California and the Hawaii Sports Radio Network. He formerly played baseball with the University of the Pacific Tigers.

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