The Draymond Green punch heard and seen around the NBA world certainly put a damper on the Warriors' title defense during the 2022-23 NBA season, but does Steph Curry think the organization could have handled the situation between the veteran forward and Jordan Poole differently?
Now that Curry has had some time to reflect, he broke down the situation with Logan Murdock and Raja Bell on The Ringer's "Real Ones" podcast.
"Honestly, I don't know [if it could have been handled differently]. I feel like maybe more of a -- I don't know," Curry began. "I can't tell you how many conversations we had [from] training camp when the incident happened to the beginning of the season, when you're trying to make sure everybody's on the same page in terms of expectations on a daily basis of how you deal with personal relationships, how you try to be professional when it comes to the job that we're all here to do. Dealing with some of the uncomfortable nature of the remnants of that situation.
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SIGN UP HERE "Because we always talk about it was between JP and Draymond being able to try to rectify the situation, have the necessary conversations. From a coach, front-office standpoint. I'm sure you could argue about should there have been a suspension or not, and it's like, we had so many conversations and so many back-and-forths in that moment of what the right course of action was, and there were a lot of variables you had to take into play."
After striking Poole during a preseason practice last October, Green was fined by the Warriors but not suspended. Curry said he doesn't have any regret about the way Golden State approached the situation, but noted the team had hopes the aftermath would play out differently.
"... It's just a matter of it was an unfortunate situation that everybody was put in, and at the end of the day, we felt like time would heal some of those wounds in the sense of allowing us to just be somewhat understanding of when we're on the court, we're here to hoop, and honestly that's how it should be in the first place," Curry continued. "We love to have deeper relationships and friendships and the ability to let that expand off the court, but at a bare minimum, there's trust that we're all here to add value to the team.
"And I felt like we had bright spots, but we just couldn't sustain it."
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Fresh off their 2022 NBA Finals win, any preseason drama was the last thing the Warriors needed as they looked to run it back. They overcame a dismal road record in 2022-23 to make the NBA playoffs as the Western Conference's No. 6 seed, but were eliminated in the second round by the Los Angeles Lakers.
Now, with the 2023-24 campaign fast approaching and Poole traded to the Washington Wizards, Curry is eager for Golden State to turn the page as he attempts to earn his fifth championship ring.
"That's how basketball goes ... We were just on the wrong side of it this year, which illuminated all the issues we had throughout the year," Curry said. "It will be interesting for us to have a fresh start and regain the culture that we've established over this last decade."