What's Really Changed for Jordan Poole, Draymond Green and the Warriors?

In the near term, it appears Draymond Green's altercation with teammate Jordan Poole won't tear the Golden State Warriors dynasty apart.

By now, you have heard the details. Green gets in Poole's face. Poole pushes him away. Green lunges to punch Poole. Warriors downplay the incident. Video leaks to the world. Steve Kerr calls it the biggest crisis the franchise has faced in his tenure. Green apologizes to everyone. Warriors don't suspend Green. Green takes some PTO to reflect.

All of this…while life-changing, career-defining contracts hung in the balance.

Then, this past weekend, Poole signed a four-year, $120 million extension that will keep him under team control for the next five seasons. Shortly after, the Warriors inked Andrew Wiggins to a four-year, $109 million extension, diminishing the likelihood that the max contract extension Green was seeking will come to fruition.

To be sure, nothing has technically been forfeited by Green, who still stands to make $25.8 million this season and another $27.6 million next season if he opts into the final year of his contract. Warriors general manager Bob Myers put it all in perspective, saying: "Draymond's in a great spot. He's got a player option. It's a great position for a player to be in. You control your own destiny. ... I don't sense any issues there or any problems with that. I imagine he's going to have a fantastic year."

It seems that Poole and Green have reached some kind of understanding that will allow a copacetic working relationship…for now. Poole played it coy in Sunday's post-extension press conference with an in-and-out recap of the situation, saying Green "apologized and we plan on handling ourselves that way. ... That's really all I have to say on the matter. We're here to win a championship and keep hanging banners."

That leaves…a lot unsaid. The incident begs for speculation, so we asked around. What probably happened here?

"If you're Jordan, you and your camp had to have a conversation or two on some level about whether this is the place for you to be right now with Draymond still around," an Eastern Conference executive said.

It might seem simple: Poole had 140 million reasons to look the other way and keep a low profile. Generational wealth was on the table, and he made sure that wasn't compromised. We'll never know, but the incident may have given Poole even more leverage at the bargaining table. And some believe it will benefit him in other ways behind the scenes.

"Poole is going to have a stronger voice inside that locker room now," a prominent NBA agent said. "Think about it. The way he has handled all of this says a lot about his character, and that goes far inside a locker room."

It might seem like the money will fix everything for the Warriors, but there is still plenty of management work to be done for the front office and coaching staff.

In a press conference late last week, Green hinted that letting his contract situation linger won't be great for anyone. He should know—he saw what happened with former teammate Kevin Durant when the Warriors failed to convince the megastar to stay beyond the 2018-19 season. The lingering that Green referred to resulted in public tension, including a blow-up and suspension for Green.

Three years later, Green and Durant discussed its impact on Durant leaving for Brooklyn. Read between the lines and you can probably understand why suspending Green this time around wouldn't solve the key problem.

"It wasn't the argument; it was the way that everybody, Steve Kerr acted like it didn't happen," Durant said. "Bob Myers then tried to just discipline you [Green] and think that would put the mask over everything."

The Warriors have to continue to find ways to make this right with Poole, beyond money. These things just don't go away because it's good for business. Poole's priority has to be what's best for him and his career, especially when you consider the kind of season he just had.

He's coming off his best season at age 23, averaging career highs across the board, including minutes per game (30), points (18.5) and shooting percentages (.448/.364./925). Anyone who follows how sports media works knows a fight will follow you—that one incident can alter your reputation and legacy longer than you think.

Eleven-year NBA veteran and 1981 Finals MVP Cedric Maxwell is probably more known for going into the stands after a fan than he is for the aforementioned career highlights.

"They can get beyond it, but fans are going to constantly bring it up. Media is going to constantly bring this up," Maxwell said. "So for him [Poole] to forget about it … how do you do that with your family, your boys see you get hit like that?"

Getting it back to where it was before Green's punch seems unlikely, but can they get back to where the two can at least function as teammates?

"It's going to always be in the back of your mind," Maxwell said. "It's a dynamic that has changed their relationship forever."

But happy friendships don’t dictate business in the NBA. If the Warriors can tolerate Green, it’s because he’s producing and helping them win games. As long as they can afford him and he’s still a better contributor than Jonathan Kuminga—Green’s promising but still raw second-year backup—they’ll stomach the management issues.

For now, the Warriors can afford Green. In 2023-24, they project to pay $483 million in salary ($268 million in tax), per ESPN's Bobby Marks, assuming Green opts into his deal. It’s hard to fathom the Warriors going beyond that, especially considering team governor Joe Lacob is on record saying anything north of $400 million isn’t “remotely possible.”

This past summer, he told The Athletic's Tim Kawakami, "You were throwing numbers out like 400, 500 … those numbers are not even remotely possible. They’re just not. I’m already in trouble with the rest of the league. We are in trouble for being where we are.”

But here we are. It appears $483 million is possible. For any Green extension, they’ll pay $7 in tax for every $1 in salary spent. How good does Green have to be for that kind of markup?

Maybe at that point, feelings might suddenly matter.