The NBA starts, Golden State easily beats the LA Lakers, but everyone is talking about a cowardly punch: Warriors veteran Draymond Green’s beating attack on a teammate not only changes the season of the champion. Although at the beginning everyone acted as if nothing had happened.
The bang of the NBA this year took place before the first day of the game. In the past few weeks there has been no other topic related to the best basketball league in the world and on the first day of the game, the eyes of fans and experts were mainly focused on two players from the Golden State Warriors: for once, not superstar Stephen Curry, but Draymond Green and Jordan Poole. Almost two weeks ago, the older and taller Green had sent the 23-year-old Poole to the ground with a punch in training. An outcry went through the entire NBA – and yet both were now in the first game of the season on the floor.
After handing over the championship rings to the champions Golden State – this time fortunately only from a sporting point of view – the Warriors kicked off the Los Angeles Lakers around megastar LeBron James, while national player Dennis Schröder dropped out with a thumb injury. At 123:109, James showed a strong performance with 31 points, 14 rebounds and 8 assists, but overall it was clear that the team from the City of Angels will probably only play an outsider role this year. The Warriors were different, led by top scorer Stephen Curry (33 points) to a clear victory.
But the result was just an aside on Tuesday night in California. Golden State was considered one of the top picks to win this year’s title after last summer’s championship. But everything changed when Green (just under six feet tall), who won four NBA titles with the Warriors, cowardly beat point and shooting guard Poole (a good 190 centimeters) in the face with full force. When the 32-year-old hit his weaker teammate to the ground. When he questioned the path of an entire team with one action.
In early October, news broke that Green had punched Poole in an altercation. NBA pundits dismissed the information as the usual scramble among teammates. But then tabloid website TMZ published a leaked cell phone video showing the sheer brutality and cowardice of the punching. Green and Poole initially fought a battle of words, standing several meters apart. It was unclear what words or insults were used, because the video was published without audio. Then Green calmly strolled towards his teammate. Parked his face inches from his opponent’s. Poole then pushed him away slightly, but didn’t defend himself because he probably didn’t expect his colleague to really attack. But Green fired a smashing right straight out of nowhere that knocked the point guard down and fell on top of him.
Green, it appeared, was swinging his fist with the full intention of hurting his own teammate. The video went viral. The conviction was immediate. There have been calls for Green’s suspension, if not from the Warriors then from the NBA. Ex-professional Jalen Rose, now an ESPN expert, said: “The video broke my heart.” The relationship between the two players is now “tainted” and will “never be the same again”.
There were also calls for Green to be traded. Because it was not the first time that the forward, who is notorious for his provocative and sometimes ugly antics, was at the center of a controversy. The 2017 Defensive Player of the Year has finished in the top five for technical fouls every season since 2015 and led the league in that category in both 2016 and 2019. In 2016, he kicked opponent Steven Adams in the groin and in the finals of the same season after a foul on LeBron James (then Cleveland Cavaliers) he was suspended for the deciding Game 5 and Golden State lost the series despite a 3-1 game lead. During the 2018-19 season, Green had such a heated argument with then-teammate Kevin Durant that he became one of the reasons the superstar left the Warriors at the end of the season.
Green has long been one of the most important pieces of the puzzle at Golden State and has played a crucial role in four championships as a defensive specialist, excellent passer and emotional catalyst. But often Green, whose ability to help his team with his emotions more than he did, was detrimental. With the beating attack, he now crossed a line. She was the straw that broke the camel’s back. At least that’s what they thought. But Green was not suspended, just fined. He issued a public apology and subsequently teamed with Poole in defeating the Lakers. As if nothing had happened.
And yet the dynamics of the master will probably have gotten a crack. As team elder, Green mentored the confident young star Poole as a kind of mentor. He showed him the way of the Warriors. But the caning attack was a betrayal. To his teammates and to the team. Can you still become a master? Golden State always prides itself on being the NBA’s flagship team for harmony, team chemistry and unity. Coach Steve Kerr told reporters ahead of the start of the season that the Warriors’ culture “was damaged by this incident. We have to work to fix that.”
It seems unclear how long Green can continue repairing. Despite the performance together, despite the impressive victory over the Lakers: As the curtain rises on a new NBA season, the curtain could fall on Green’s career at Golden State after ten years. “Green’s days with the Warriors are numbered,” said ex-pro Rose. Especially because the team focuses on youth and recently signed not only Poole, but also Andrew Wiggins (27 years old) for four more years each. So it’s fitting that Green only collected four points, five rebounds and five assists, no block and no steal against the Lakers in 25 minutes, but Poole had twelve points and seven assists.
Green, who thinks he deserves a maximum contract, will earn $25.8 million this season and has a player option for $27.5 million in the 2023-24 season. The Warriors could trade Green ahead of the February trade deadline to avoid signing him for next season. The Forward knows that, of course. Frustration, envy and the feeling of being replaced and discarded may also have played a role in his punching, although nothing can justify this attack.
The Warriors around Superstar Curry, unlike the Lakers around James and Schröder, show right at the start of the league that despite the brawl they are to be expected. The new title still seems possible with this team. The only question is how long Draymond Green can fight for it – or whether he actually beat his way out of Golden State.
