Draymond Green Takes Leave of Absence After Punching Teammate Jordan Poole
The Golden State Warriors will be without Draymond Green for an indefinite amount of time as the mercurial forward will take a leave of absence from the team. According to ESPN’s NBA reporter Kendra Andrews, Green will be away for at least a few days.
Green announces he will step away from the team for a few days to focus on himself, and allow the team to "heal." He doesn't know how long he will be away.
— Kendra Andrews (@kendra__andrews) October 8, 2022
Green’s self-imposed absence could be a precursor to further missed time if the team imposes a suspension following the violent incident.
As first reported by Shams Charania of The Athletic, Green and guard Jordan Poole were involved in a physical altercation during Wednesday’s practice.
Per Charania, Green “forcefully struck Poole and needed to be separated swiftly” after the pair were seen pushing and shoving in a heated argument.
The scrap forced Warriors head coach Steve Kerr to cancel the remainder of practice.
Following Charania’s report, TMZ Sports somehow obtained video of the incident, which you can see below.
Warriors brass were livid that the video evidence was leaked to the public and are conducting an internal investigation on how and who gave up the goods.
As noted by Yahoo Sports’ Chris Haynes, Poole and Green are said to “Have a history, but no players from the Golden State Warriors felt the incident was warranted.”
The Warriors have about a week and a half to sort things out before they open their season. Golden State hosts the Los Angeles Lakers on October 18th as part of a must-watch NBA doubleheader to kick off the year.
FanDuel Sportsbook has the Dubs as -6-point home favorites over LA with a -255 moneyline. G-State also holds the third-best NBA title odds at +700 (tied with the Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Clippers)
