How Did Steve Kerr Lose His First Western Conference Series? Draymond Green Exposes Warriors’ Struggles Last Season in Contrast to This

It is no secret that last year was extremely horrible for the Golden State Warriors. Coming into the season as the defending champions, the team failed to move past the semifinals. A lot of the issue can be chalked down to what happened in the fall of 2022. The infamous “punching incident” during the Warrior’s training camp was the start of all their troubles. 

Unless you were living under a rock, the fight between Draymond Green and Jordan Poole is pretty much known to everyone with access to the internet. Despite the apologies from Green to the team and to Poole, it was evident that the Warriors were not who they were when they won the title the year before. 

Aftershocks of ‘The Punch’

It’s not been a year and the Warriors are back to fight and bring their title back home. After Wednesday’s win over the Sacramento Kings, Green spoke to the media. And he opened up in-depth about the issues from the previous year and how the team is fairing now. 

Green pointed out that one of the biggest strengths of this team was their chemistry. He added, “That’s why Steph has been here for 15 years, Klay’s been here for 13, I’ve been here for 12 and Loon’s been here for nine. Because chemistry is a strong suit. Andre Iguodala, the list goes on and on. That’s why so many guys have been here for so long, because chemistry is what we hang our hat on.” 

At the same time, he acknowledged that because of the lack of chemistry, the team could not achieve the things it wanted to. “But you look at last year, you say this team hasn’t lost a Western Conference series under Steve Kerr, and then it happened. A big reason why is our chemistry sucked”, Green pointed out. 

Read More : “We Kinda Never Moved On”: Draymond Green Speaks Out on Adverse Aftermath of Infamous Punch on Charles Barkley’s Podcast

He further explained that this was just a “one-year thing” and promised that such an “anomaly” would not happen again. He said he believes that the team is learning and growing together. As proof of that was the time they have spent over the summer and are spending together now. Green shared, “This year, you see the joy on guys’ face when they come into the building. You’ve got guys staying over two, three hours after just sitting around talking. Getting here two, three hours early just to be here. It’s like, you start to see that and you’re like okay, this is a group that likes being together.” 

Jordan vs Draymond: What went down

It all started in October as the Warriors were in training camp, preparing to defend their title win. Despite the many possible rumors, no one actually knows what Poole said to Green. Whatever it was, it triggered the 33-year-old forward so much that he just landed a punch square on Poole’s face. He did take the blame for the issue and apologized. But the damage had already been done. In an interview at the end of the season, head coach Steve Kerr shared, “Anytime some trust is lost then it makes the process much more difficult. And there was some trust lost. That’s as blunt as I can be. So the only way to try to correct course is to continue to communicate with players and coaches.” 

Kerr also added that trying to build back those relationships would be the focus of the offseason. “We have to get back to what has made us really successful. Which is a really trusting environment and a group that relies on one another.” And that explains all the dinners and the bonding sessions that Draymond spoke about. 

For his part, Green also admitted to Stephen A. Smith that because of his actions, he was able to guide Poole in the right way and help him with his moves on the court. “I’m aware that Jordan struggled a little bit at times this year. I get that. Had I not done that, the relationship we had, I could have been there for him, I could have carried him through that. I wasn’t necessarily able to do that once everything happened. I think I could have been of more service to him.” 

Despite signing a four-year deal last year, Poole was eventually traded to the Washington Wizards. And Draymond, whose contract was up with last season, got an extension for the next four years. Maybe it was all for the best because now the Warriors are stronger than ever. Trading Poole meant Chris Paul joined the team. With one of the strongest teams in the league, the Dubnation is eagerly looking forward to seeing Stephen Curry and Co. winning the championship once again and reinstating their names as the best in the NBA. 

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