It has been almost a year since the Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green punched his former teammate Jordan Poole during practice. The leaked video surfaced last October before the start of the season, leaving fans worried about the internal problems in the Warriors team. In the aftermath, Draymond was fined and took some time off from team activities. And Jordan Poole was traded to the Washington Wizards after the end of the 2022-23 season.

Now that the dust has settled on the incident, the Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard provided a fresh perspective on the infamous ?Punch? of Draymond Green.

Damian Lillard defends Draymond Green

Damian Lillard was a guest on the It Is What It Is Podcast and chimed in on the Jordan Poole ?Punch? incident from last October. Dame revealed that his first thought after watching the leaked video was that things might have escalated between the two former teammates because of their trash-talking nature on the court. Having faced both Draymond and Poole on several occasions, Dame has had his share of heated verbal altercations with them during games. ?I don?t see Draymond like just clicking off like that.? Lillard said, knowing the veteran Warriors Center for years. The 7-time All-Star believes that the tension between Poole and Draymond had to be built up for a long time.

Despite understanding why Draymond punched the 24-year-old, Lillard wished that had not happened, ?I wish Draymond didn?t do it.? He also defended the 33-year-old, claiming that it is very easy to villainize Draymond because of his personality, but he is a great person off the court.

The Aftermath of the ?Punch?

After a disappointing exit from the 2023 playoffs, the Golden State Warriors made it clear that they preferred Draymond Green over Jordan Poole. The young guard was traded to the Washington Wizards this off-season even though he was a key player in the Warriors? 2022 Championship run. Playing all 82 games for the Warriors last season and averaging over 20 points was not enough for Jordan Poole to fix the internal issues with the team and secure a future in Golden State.

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Whereas, Draymond re-signed with the Warriors on a 4-year $100 million contract despite his age. Draymond has been with the team for more than a decade and helped them become one of the Greatest Dynasties of the Modern NBA. And the Warriors felt that the Big 3 of Steph, Klay, and Draymond had more championships left in the tank.

With both players on separate teams, they will be looking for a fresh start after a chaotic 2022-23 season.

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