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Draymond Green has been fined but avoided a suspension over an altercation with Jordan Poole that Steve Kerr described as “the biggest crisis” of his time as Golden State Warriors coach.
Footage emerged last week of the two team-mates pushing one another before Green escalated the incident by throwing a punch at Poole.
Green, a four-time NBA champion with the Warriors, has consequently been spending time away from the team and training in isolation ahead of the new season where Golden State are preparing to defend their championship.
The Warriors defeated the Portland Trail Blazers in preseason on Tuesday, after which head coach Kerr announced Green would return to the fold for their final warm-up against the Denver Nuggets on Friday, and their season-opener against the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday.
Kerr confirmed the decision had been taken following extensive conversations among several parties, including general manager Bob Myers, superstar Steph Curry, and after talks between Green and Poole themselves.
“We feel like we have a great feel 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 coach here. It’s really serious stuff.
“We have spent the last week in deep discussions with all of our key figures in the organisation, including Jordan and Draymond of course, Steph, all of our players, Bob, myself, and I can tell you there have been a lot of conversations, individual, one-on-one discussions, players-only discussions.
“Everything that you can think of, all the different combinations that are possible to have in a conversation, we’ve had them. It’s been an exhaustive process.”
Kerr noted all possibilities were “on the table” over the ugly incident, and confirmed investigations are taking place into how the footage was leaked to TMZ.
He also accepted the final decision may come under scrutiny but felt Green has earned a chance to atone for his actions.
“Any criticism that we face here is fair,” Kerr added.
“He broke our trust with this incident but I’m giving him the benefit of the doubt because I think he’s earned that, and I think our team feels the same way.”
As well as his title wins, Green is a four-time NBA All-Star and was named Defensive Player of the Year in 2017.
