We are about to find out if Draymond Green can return to equilibrium after looking at the edge of the emotional cliff and doing a long jump over it. By now, I’m sure you’ve seen the video of him punching Jordan Poole in the face at practice. It was quite the sight. Not necessarily unheard of, but also not so common that those inside and outside the NBA were buzzing about it. Being a week out from the incident, with multiple Warriors’ press conferences already transpired, there isn’t much left to say about the incident.
Fences, assuredly, are now in the process of being mended. Draymond with Jordan Poole. Draymond with the rest of his teammates and coaches. It also sounds like Draymond with himself. How he, Poole, and the rest of those inside the locker room move on from this will go a long way toward determining how Golden State fares this season. They have repeat aspirations after all.
The Parties Involved
While Jordan Poole is the obvious aggrieved party in this situation, he doesn’t quite seem that compelling to dive into. Poole seems unfazed about what being unexpectedly slumped by a teammate might do to one’s psyche. There was a video of him getting shots up after the practice he got punched. His face shows zero signs of being punched. He played the Warriors’ preseason game on Sunday night in a typical carefree, dynamic fashion. Kendra Andrews mentioned on the Lowe Post that Poole was his typical self in the locker room after the game. The young man just moves differently than most of us, at least outwardly.
Green, on the other hand, continues to be one of the most fascinating players and personalities in the Association. Love him, hate him, or vacillate in between. He is always a firebrand of some sort. There is no need to recant much of his story as a pro and what he means to Golden State. The question now is, will Draymond Green be able to recapture the emotional edge that has made him so great and such a valued leader that he so clearly crossed?
The Emotional Edge
I was speaking with a sports psychologist one time, and he discussed how he liked to talk about the edge with the athletes he worked with. He used the analogy of a cliff. He wanted to help get his athletes right to the edge, have the ability to peer over it, but still have the control to keep their feet on solid ground. This could be through anxiousness before a game or match. Find the appropriate level where they have nerves that help them zero in their focus without succumbing to the anxiety and letting it control their mind and movements.
Another example, particularly applicable to Green and the Warriors team he helps lead, is confidence. We have seen Golden State over the last eight seasons display a cockiness and confidence that has fueled them to four titles. We have also seen that bite them in the ass. On one hand, you have their audaciousness to swing the ball around the floor and go for the kill shot, whether a three or back-breaking backdoor cut. On the other, a behind-the-back pass in game 7 of the Finals that goes out of bounds.
When it comes to Draymond Green, we have watched him fuel his career directly by living on this emotional edge. In the 2022 Finals, we watched him spark a game 2 win, largely by getting into the heads of the Boston Celtics and taking them out of their game. In games 3 and 4, the favor was returned as the Boston crowd effectively psyched Draymond out, leading to a mini benching in the fourth quarter of a crucial game 4. He has used antics to help lead one of the most destructive lineups of all time as a 6’6” center. Those antics have also seen him suspended from a Finals game helping fuel an all-time collapse. When you are constantly staring the edge in the face, it can be difficult to stay grounded at all times.
The Path Forward
Now, the challenge is to win back the trust of Poole, his teammates, and his coaches. Following an ugly scene where everyone agreed that Draymond was wrong, that can be easier said than done. This is bigger than his 2016 Finals screw-up. This violated the trust among teammates in an event that had two participants but seemed largely one-sided. Yes, Poole pushed Draymond and was previously jawing with him, but that punch was violent. You could hear it in the tones of Stephen Curry, Steve Kerr, and Bob Meyers when they addressed the media.
How does one who thrives on the emotional edge trust himself to get back there without doing something similar again? Even if a punch like this is highly unlikely, how does a teammate respond to Draymond the next time he chews them out for a mistake? “You gonna punch me like you did Jordan?” It would only seem human if Draymond isn’t cautious the next time he feels strong emotions toward a teammate rising up in him again. This doesn’t seem like an incident he or anyone else in that locker room will easily forget. Well, maybe Poole.
The issue lies in the potential emotional caution that could arise from this incident. As Draymond loses some of his athletic effectiveness, his mind and the emotional edge will become even more valuable. But what does he become as a player if he cannot return to that place? What does he become as a leader? A more docile Draymond Green is not the Hall of Famer we have watched for the last decade. He becomes merely a very good defender and gifted but erratic passer. His ability to think about the game that we highlighted last fall only goes so far when he doesn’t match it with the emotional abandon that took that mind to great heights.
Draymond Green’s Return
In the aforementioned Lowe Post episode, host Zach Lowe intimated Draymond’s return will be set by the players. With that return now set for Thursday, Green will move into the phase of regaining his edge. As Kevon Looney gave voice to last week, “He’s (Draymond) got some work to do to get that trust back from us, but I think he’s willing to do it.” It’s not often the players are deciding a suspension for a fellow player, but Golden State has bred a unique ecosystem that this route makes sense. Now, we will see if they can stand the test of this challenge and how Draymond makes amends, finds his footing at emotion’s edge, and thrives once again.
