Draymond Green never stood a chance of getting a suspension for punching Jordan Poole, thanks to his decade-long services to Joe Lacob’s team
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After last year’s finalists, Boston Celtics’ defeated the Philadelphia 76ers in the first game of the season, the defending NBA champs were ready to take on the Los Angeles Lakers for the second.
But first, all the Warriors, young as well as the decade-old core, were up for getting the Championship ring on their fingers.
It’d be the first one for most Dubs but for Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Andre Iguodala, and head coach Steve Kerr, it’d be their 4th one in the space of eight seasons.
And it would be severely distasteful for the Dubs’ majority owner if one of their leaders or arguably ‘The’ leader, Green, wasn’t suited up in a Warriors uniform for the same.
Joe Lacob wasn’t going to let Draymond Green miss the Warriors’ ring ceremony
For a practice session brawl, which wasn’t supposed to be leaked in the first place, most people, including the media, were expecting the Warriors’ upper management to hand out a ban to Green for punching Jordan Poole.
But the highest power in the Chase Center had his own views about the quarrel between his employees and despite his beliefs of it being a bad workplace situation, Joe Lacob wasn’t going to let Draymond miss the ring ceremony.
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) October 19, 2022
With that being said, it would be of utmost priority for Green to keep himself away from this kind of situation again.
Draymond will be walking on thin ice this season
The last time a team dispute involving Green happened, their 2x Finals MVP, Kevin Durant ended up in Brooklyn a season later. The Slim Reaper decided to take his talents somewhere else rather than getting bullied by a younger player in Green and being overshadowed by Curry.
Had he stayed who knows these Warriors would be having their fifth ring ceremony on Tuesday?
This time the 2017 DPOY’s team has made it abundantly clear to him about whom they prioritize, by giving Poole the 4-year, $140 million extension over him, while he is a year away from his player option on his 4-year $99M deal and was expecting a massive salary bump himself.
Not only he’ll have to keep his nerves calmer than ever, but he would also have to perform his best for the Warriors to even think about his hike. Otherwise, this might be the last season we see not only Iggy in a Warriors uniform, but Green as well.
