Golden State pursuing ‘every legal course of after Green-Poole fight footage was leaked to press

After a shocking video was leaked of Warriors forward Draymond Green punching teammate Jordan Poole, the team is investigating how the footage came out.

According to ESPNs Ramona Shelburne and Adrian Wojnarowski, the Warriors, are ‘taking legal action’ to discover how video of (Green) punching (Poole) during a scuffle at training on Wednesday was made public.”

Shelburne further mentioned that Green “apologised to the team and Poole on Thursday” for a press conference held about the incident.

The practice where the blow happened was closed to the media and the Warriors are “aggressively engaged” in the fight and the release of the video.

The team has already said Green will not be suspended and any penalties will be handled internally.

The clip shows Green exchanging words with Poole along the baseline before hitting the chest with the smaller guard, who tries to gently push the veteran forward as concerned teammates and coaches notice.

It’s then that the 6-foot-6 Green, 32, lunges to the 6-foot-4 Poole, 23, with a right hand to the face.

Some spectators stepped in, while others, including reigning NBA Finals MVP Stephen Curry, watched and watched the skirmish unfold. In the end, a crowd of about six bystanders were able to separate the couple.

Poole reportedly finished practicing, so apparently he wasn’t hurt.

Warriors general manager Bob Myers later acknowledged the incident, saying, “These things happen.

“Nobody likes it,” Myers told reporters. “We don’t approve of it, but it happens.

Draymond has apologized to the team. Jordan was there in the room,” Myers continued. ‘With regard to a possible suspension, punishment, fine, we will deal with that internally.’

The cause of the fight remains a bit of a mystery.

One report claimed that teammates were upset that Poole had talked incessantly about building a pool on his property and that the joke eventually landed on Green, but Curry has since called that theory “absolute BS.”

Myers, who spoke to reporters, had no specific answer to offer.

“That question was asked, ‘Was this something out of line that was said?'” Myers said. “The answer I heard was, ‘No, it was just normal bickering within a scrimmage.'”

Both Green and Poole are eligible for lucrative contract extensions from the cash-strapped Warriors, who are trying to reduce the already sky-high luxury tax. Last season, en route to their fourth title in the past eight seasons, the Warriors collected an NBA-record $170.3 million in luxury taxes on top of their league-high payroll of $184 million.

In theory, Green and Poole compete for the money the team wants to spend in the future.

Several internet reports claim Poole’s ego has grown as he neared a new contract extension, perhaps adding to the friction with Green, but head coach Steve Kerr seemed to dismiss that on Thursday.

‘All I will say is Jordan’ [Poole’s attitude] The whole camp has been fantastic,” Kerr told reporters.

Myers said the incident did not affect negotiations with Poole.

One, seemingly light-hearted, suggestion was made by Atlanta Hawks star Trae Young, who suggested Green try to be traded to the Los Angeles Lakers or Clippers, though it seems unlikely that Golden State would trade him within their own division.

“Draymond is trying to reach LA,” Young tweeted. “Damn!”

While the Lakers or Clippers may seem like an unlikely destination for Green, he could become expendable in San Francisco.

Now in his 10th season, Green has won four NBA titles after last June’s win over Boston. The problem is that he has occasionally bumped heads with teammates, such as an infamous on-field argument with Kevin Durant in 2017, and even Kerr has been caught complaining about the former Defensive Player of the Year.

During a 2019 game, Kerr appeared to be saying to a member of his staff, “I’m so damn tired of Dramond’s s***.”

When given the chance to clarify what he had said, Kerr downplayed the incident with a joke.

“No, the lip readers were wrong,” he told reporters. “What I said was, ‘I don’t agree with Draymond’s approach tonight.’ Those were my exact words. I don’t know how anyone got that wrong.’

Kerr did admit that he and Green had a private conversation about the case afterward.

Green certainly has a reputation as a puncher and has been caught swinging at opponents’ genitals several times, including once in the 2016 NBA Finals when he punched LeBron James on the groin. Green was eventually suspended for the next game.

“Jordan Poole was caught sleeping because he didn’t think Draymond would hit a man above the waist,” former Slam reporter Ryan Jones joked on Twitter.

On Thursday, Myers defended Green by saying he made up for it in the past when he crossed a line.

“He’ll tell you he’s crossed that line, but he always comes back,” Myers said. ‘Nobody says they don’t want him around…but [Wednesday] was not a good time. … I don’t think he likes to put himself in these places. He’s in one, but I think he’ll find a way to win back the respect of his teammates and Jordan.”

While Green may not get suspended, there could be a league-wide fallout after the video of the incident was leaked.

John Hollinger, former NBA director and current Athletic employee, joked that teams will not make the same mistake as the Warriors by capturing the punch.

“That sound you just heard?” Hollinger tweeted. “That was every team that has automatic practice court cameras in their facility that sound an alarm for an urgent mandatory staff meeting.”