Green, a punch to teammate Poole at Golden State Warriors- Corriere.it

The novelty with respect to facts and facts already seen in the past is that Draymond Green has already apologized for the punch pulled into training on Wednesday 5 October at Jordan Poole, the forward spearhead of the Golden State Warriors’ nouvelle vague. But The Dancing Bear (the dancing bear, historical nickname given to the turbulent player) could not prevent its reputation as a brawler from undergoing an update (for the worse) and even bothering the bookmakers.

The betting men have classified the probability of a repetition of a boxing event between the two: obviously the veteran wins. But in the meantime, peace reigns, as long as it lasts. The images of Green’s unfortunate gesture have finally leaked, disseminated via social media. Poole is seen muttering something on the baseline – but it is not clear if his partner is the target of his outburst – then Green appears more or less deliberately bumping Jordan with his chest. At that point the young man pushes him and Green soaks a direct to the face worthy of the best Tyson.

Immediately the outbreak of fighting is extinguished by comrades, technicians, managers. Perhaps aware of having made it big again, the four-time NBA champion the next day apologized to Poole and the team for what happened. The Warriors forgave him: will be back on the pitch for training no earlier than Saturday 8, but will not miss matches of the regular season (and will not be deducted from the salary, based on the splitting of pay into 82nds). As General Manager Bob Myers announced: These things happen. Nobody likes them, nobody justifies them, but they happen. Draymond apologized to the team and Jordan was present. As for suspensions, punishments and fines, we will handle it internally.

Partial leniency does not mean, on the other hand, that they are not on the alert in San Francisco. Green has passed the mark again and the executives know it: He himself will tell you that he went too far. But then he always comes back. Nobody is saying he doesn’t want him around anymore, what happened Wednesday wasn’t good. I don’t even think he likes to find himself in certain situations: now he is in trouble again, but he will find a way to regain the respect of his teammates and in particular of Jordan. The precedents, however, suggest the utmost attention. Green has already wreaked havoc within the Golden State Warriors once: it was the time when Kevin Durant arrived, who never entered and eventually ran away. With KD it never came to blows, but the tense stories were numerous, between psychological and (almost) physical conflicts.

How to forget then in race 5 of the 2016 Finals the blow dealt where it hurts LeBron James the most, resulting in disqualification for a pile of fouls in flagrante delicto? The episode overturned the inertia of the final in Cleveland’s favor. Not happy, Green accidentally posted a photo of his attributes on social media and that was certainly not an act of relaxation towards LBJ. Finally, again that year, in East Lansing You risk arrest because he slapped a Michigan State football player.

So, if on the one hand it is true that he makes his opponents lose his head, on the other hand it is proven that he often loses it first. But if the Dancing Bear is in punishment, Jordan Poole must also be in the eye. In fact, rumors of unidentified teammates circulate about him according to which, after the conquest of the NBA title in June (with a notable contribution from him), he would have presented to the training camp with the wrong attitude. In between there would be a question of money, notably the rich renewal of the contract torn by Tyler Hierro in Miami. Poole equates himself with the Heat guard and therefore does not like to make less money. Moreover, everyone defended him a bit, from coach Kerr to Stephen Curry to Myers himself: the same boy from a year ago and the phrase that recurs at the training camp went very well. But it may not be an unlimited, untested line of credit.