At this point it does not look like the Golden State Warriors will react drastically with respect to what happened between Draymond Green and Jordan Poole. The former has apologized and somehow it looks like it is over. But what if it is not?
If one of Green or Poole were to leave, it seems the Warriors would much rather keep the 23-year-old guard than the veteran. Needless to say, Green still remains an integral member of the group and Golden State needs him in its title defense this season. However, at face value, it appears that Poole has already surpassed Draymond (and even Klay Thompson) in this regard, as told by an unnamed executive to Bleacher Report:
\”The Warriors are not the same without Draymond. They can\’t defend the title without him. I don\’t think it would be easy to trade him right now, given the injury. They will try to keep both of them. Poole is obviously the priority. Draymond and even Klay Thompson were looking poorly at Poole, but it\’s not surprising since he has surpassed them both in terms of value to the team.\”
As the executive rightly reported, even if the Warriors wanted to trade Green now, it would not be the easiest thing for them to do. Therefore, the general sentiment throughout the league seems to be that Dray\’s recent incident with Poole is not likely to have a significant impact on his future with the team:
\”If they lose Dray, it will be more about the money than the punch. Maybe I\’m selling out the incident, but if they don\’t give him the money he\’s asking for, I think it\’s only minimally related to the punch he threw at Poole.\”
Green has two more years on his contract, with 2023-24 as a player option for him. At this point, the belief is that the Warriors will \”do something\” in terms of extending his contract so as not to lose him for free next summer.
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