Warriors praise Jordan Poole’s professionalism after dust-up with Draymond Green
Jordan Poole explodes for 18 points in the third quarter of Sunday's preseason game against the Lakers.
SAN FRANCISCO — Jordan Poole might be embroiled in a viral controversy with Draymond Green, but the fourth-year guard hasn’t shown any signs of being bothered by it.
After getting socked in the face by Green in practice Wednesday, Poole got back out on the floor and finished the rest of his workout. He has returned to Chase Center each day seemingly unfazed by the ordeal, which was intensified when video of the blow was released by TMZ Friday.
And on Sunday, one day after Draymond Green publicly apologized for the punch and announced he was stepping away from the team for an undisclosed amount of time, Poole shined in the Warriors’ 124-121 preseason loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Poole exploded in the third quarter, helping the Warriors erase an eight-point deficit at the half. He showed off his crafty ballhandling and scored 18 of his team-high 25 points in the third quarter. That includes an end-of-the-quarter burst, where he scored 10 straight points in the final 3 ½ minutes.
One magical move — an in-and-out dribble followed by a behind-the-back in the paint before finishing with a floater — caught the eyes of Kevin Durant.
“Who thinks to do some s— like this,” Durant tweeted in response to a video of the play.
Meanwhile, Poole’s teammates debated whether the move was even legal.
“I was counting steps,” Donte DiVincenzo said. “I don’t know if he walked or not. I talked to him on the bench and he didn’t even know, but we were joking about it for sure.”
Poole, who finished with six assists, four rebounds and two steals, seemed overall happy to be at Chase Center Sunday. He shared some laughs with former teammate and current Laker Juan Toscano-Anderson during warm-ups. Shortly before tip-off, Poole was overjoyed when Stephen Curry surprised him with a cylinder glass trophy in honor of him finishing with the best free-throw percentage in the league last season.
It can’t be easy to have an incident like the one between him and Green be plastered all over social media, but Poole is taking it in stride. And his professionalism and level-headedness amid the situation has been lauded by his coach and teammates in recent days.
“There’s a reason he’s in this position to sign a big extension hopefully,” coach Steve Kerr said Sunday night after Poole’s latest gem. “Guy’s tough. He’s just mentally tough, he’s physically tough, he’s ultra-confident in his game and he showed it tonight.”
“He’s a professional, simply put,” DiVincenzo said. “He knows what to do when he comes to work. That action, they couldn’t stop so I was running it over and over again until they stopped it. He was in the zone, so keep feeding the hot hand.”
Poole has the potential to be a perennial All-Star and he seems to be picking up where he left off last season. He’s up for a contract extension that could be north of $100 million, though those negotiations remain ongoing. If he doesn’t sign a deal by Oct. 17 then Poole will be a restricted free agent next summer.
Green on Saturday refuted a report that money was the root of his frustrations. But it’s hard to overlook the reality of the situation. Poole, 23, is in the market to make as much on this next contract as Green, 32, has made playing after a decade in the league (which is just shy of $130 million, per Spotrac.)
Poole is also the face of the next generation of Warriors and Green is on the backend of his career. And it’s clear the Warriors have high hopes for Poole’s future as a leader of the young guys.
“What’s exciting with Jordan is that he’s a shot creator and there’s so much value to that in the league,” Kerr said. “You have to have someone who can break down the defense and create a shot either for himself or for a teammate so to be able to see that from Jordan over the last couple of years, see him blossoming, confidence growing, he’s someone we’re going to rely on for many years to come… We got a lot of good young players, but Jordan is by far the most advanced and we’re gonna lean on him heavily now and well into the future.”