Draymond praises Poole’s growth with Wizards despite taunting exchange

Draymond praises Poole’s growth with Wizards despite taunting exchange originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Even years after their heated altercation as Warriors teammates, Draymond Green and Jordan Poole appear to still not be the best of friends on different teams on separate coasts.

But that didn’t stop the Golden State veteran forward from commending the young guard’s growth in his second season with the Washington Wizards.

“He’s playing better. He’s playing a lot better,” Green told reporters after the Warriors’ 125-112 win over the Wizards on Monday at Capital One Arena. “I think his shot selection, you know, you come to a new situation — I’ve never done it — but I’ve watched a lot of it, as a competitor, you just want to show everything that you can do. You want to show that you’re the guy.

“And I think last year he was pressing a lot, he just wanted it to happen so bad. And this year he’s a lot more settled in. He’s not taking some of the shots that he was taking last year. They were bad shots. I don’t think it was a matter of selfishness, I think it was a matter of wanting it so bad to prove to people that I can have my own team, I can come here and be successful, that it ends up working against you. But this year, he’s doing much better.”

Poole, who was selected by Golden State in the first round of the 2019 NBA Draft, was traded to the Wizards during the 2023 offseason in exchange for veteran point guard Chris Paul in a blockbuster move that stunned the league — just one season after having his best statistical NBA campaign and two after undeniably helping Golden State win its fourth NBA title in eight years.

The shocking trade also happened less than nine months after Green punched Poole during a closed Warriors practice, and video of the incident was leaked to social media.

Players and coaches admitted after the fact that the chemistry never was the same for the entirety of the 2022-23 season, as the then-defending champion Warriors fell to the Los Angeles Lakers in the second round of the Western Conference playoffs.

While Poole, Green and the Warriors seemingly moved on from the situation –…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/draymond-praises-pooles-growth-wizards-192258349.html

Author : NBC Sports BayArea

Publish date : 2024-11-05 19:22:00

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