Draymond Green has been fined but won’t be suspended by the Golden State Warriors for a violent punch to the face of teammate Jordan Poole last week.
Coach Steve Kerr said after Tuesday’s preseason win against Portland that Green would return to practice Thursday, then play for the defending NBA champions against Denver on Friday night and again in the season opener Tuesday against the Lakers. Kerr, general manager Bob Myers and players have met to decide how best to proceed — including Green and Poole talking to each other.
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Grumpy Green punches Poole | 00:40
“We feel like we have a great feeling for our team. We’ve got a lot of continuity on this team, so Bob and I know our players extremely well,” Kerr said. “We feel like this is the best way after assessing everything for us to move forward. It’s never easy no matter what decision you make in a situation like this. It’s not going to be perfect. This is the biggest crisis that we’ve ever had since I’ve been a coach here. It’s really serious stuff.”
Green and Poole met in recent days about the fight and everyone involved has taken part in exhaustive discussions since the incident last Wednesday in practice, Kerr said. Two-time MVP Stephen Curry has led some of those talks. On Monday, Green’s mom, Mary Babers Green, defended her son on Twitter for his role in the fight after a video emerged of the Warriors forward punching his teammate during practice.
In a message that has since been deleted, Babers Green — who has long been vocal on social media over matters engulfing the NBA — tweeted, “That wasn’t a sucker punch. Dray didn’t aggressively go to Poole. His hands were down. Man to Man you go over to talk (to ask what’s up, what you say)! Got shoved and reacted.. End of story!”
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