Draymond Green vs Jordan Poole: A timeline of the feud and where they stand ahead of the 2022-23 season

The fight that happened between Draymond Green and Jordan Poole didn’t just come from nowhere. It was the climax of a heated back-and-forth that had been going on for days.

The Golden State Warriors stalwarts were rumored to be always going after each other, but somewhere along the way, things suddenly changed.

It should be noted that even when JP was still a rookie, the veteran forward was already appreciative of Poole’s trash-talking. Here's what Green said about the former Michigan standout:

“One day, him and Glenn Robinson III, they got into it. All these guys are coming to me like, ‘Tell him to shut up! This young guy’s always got something to say.’ I’m not gonna tell him to shut up! If you can’t handle him talking sh*t, that’s on you!

“At that moment, the way he was getting under that guy’s skin, I appreciate that.”

The Golden State Warriors, behind Steph Curry, Draymond Green, Klay Thompson and Jordan Poole, won the 2022 NBA championship. For the veteran Warriors, it was their fourth title in eight years.

In the postgame celebration, JP and Andrew Wiggins could clearly be heard shouting with excitement that they were going to get the bag. It might have been a defining moment in the Green and Poole timeline that nobody saw coming.

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A reportedly changed Jordan Poole

Golden State Warriors Victory Parade & Rally

The Golden State Warriors will have some tough decisions facing them, particularly after next season. They will have to decide on the future of Andrew Wiggins, Jordan Poole, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green. All of them expect to get the max deal, which is impossible given the team’s salary cap woes and massive luxury tax concerns.

When pre-season started, the fireworks were let loose as well. Jordan Poole was supposedly chirping partly because of the bright future that’s almost inevitable. During a scrimmage on a Monday last week, Poole reportedly mocked Green’s free-throw attempts, telling him to “stop pissing.”

Poole was relentless and supposedly asked why Draymond Green used MoneyGreen as Twitter handle if he wasn’t gonna get paid and traded somewhere else. The fiery forward was incensed by what was said that he threw the ball at Poole.

On Wednesday of that week, the fight broke out. Jordan Poole is from Michigan while “Dray” is from Michigan State, which is already something they can’t agree on. Poole reportedly asked Green if the girls at MSU watched him because of the triple-singles or the screen setting.

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Draymond Green's punch went viral

Golden State Warriors v Washington Wizards - NBA Japan Games

By this time, Green was so enraged that he deliberately went close to Poole, bodied him and quickly threw the haymaker after JP pushed him. It was trash-talking gone wrong that could have ended badly for the three-year shooting guard.

Warriors GM Bob Myers tried to downplay the whole incident in a press conference, calling it something that happens all the time in sports. When the video was leaked, nearly everyone felt like the Bay Area team wanted to push the incident under the rug.

Steve Kerr would later call it the biggest crisis of his time with the Golden State Warriors. Presumably, it was bigger than the Kevin Durant-Draymond Green spat that earned the latter a suspension.

Instead, the “biggest crisis” was meted with only a fine, a punishment that has been lambasted by most basketball analysts. The Warriors’ ring ceremony on opening night was reportedly factored into the decision not to suspend Green.

Draymond Green has explicitly stated that he and Jordan Poole are professionals who are expected to do their jobs. That may be so, but there is clearly a rift somewhere in there that could be irreparable. Green’s days with the Warriors could be numbered as a result of the punch that went viral.