Dub Hub: Steve Kerr says the Jordan Poole incident was the ‘most angry’ he’s been at Draymond Green

Rounding up all Warriors and NBA related news for Wednesday, September 18th.

In today’s Dub Hub:

• In an interview on the Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz, Steve Kerr reveals that the Jordan Poole incident was the “most angry” he’s ever been at Draymond Green.
• Warriors are among teams who have worked out former first-round pick Nassir Little, according to Keith Smith of Spotrac.
• ESPN NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski announces his retirement.

Draymond Green has tested the patience of the Golden State Warriors numerous times throughout his career. Despite these outbursts, the Warriors have largely been lenient with Green, acknowledging his importance as both a leader and a key player on the court.

However, there was one incident where he undeniably crossed the line. In a recent interview on The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz, head coach Steve Kerr reflected on the infamous Jordan Poole incident, admitting it was the “most angry” he’s ever been with Green.

Via NBC Sports Bay Area:

“I think for sure the Jordan Poole incident. Draymond and I are a lot alike in many ways, people probably wouldn’t see that from the outside but we’re both kind of maniacal competitors and we’ve lost our minds with each other, during games, over whatever disagreements about strategy. But he crossed the line about Jordan and he knows it, he knew it immediately. And it made that season incredibly difficult for everybody. That story has been regurgitated many times but that’s probably the time I was most angry.”

The incident occurred before the 2022-23 season, when Green punched Poole during a heated practice exchange. A leaked video of the incident further escalated the situation, leading to a season of dysfunction and awkward team chemistry.

Poole was eventually traded the following offseason, as the Warriors attempted to navigate from the fallout of the punch.

For more on this and other news around the NBA, here is our latest news round-up for Wednesday, September 18th:

Warriors News:

Steve Kerr on the angriest he’s been at Draymond Green: “I think for sure the Jordan Poole incident”

Warriors’ Kerr felt like ‘fish out of water’ giving speech at DNC | NBC Sports Bay Area

Kerr received some criticism for his appearance but the feedback overall for his speech was positive as he aimed to convey a message of unity in a divided political climate.

“I got some emails. But generally speaking, the vast majority of people who contacted me were very supportive,” Kerr shared. “I wanted to make sure my message was one of unity, especially coming off the Olympic gold medal performance by the team in Paris.

“I just think the political rhetoric, really the national rhetoric on a lot of platforms is just so ugly these days and divisive and I just wanted to make sure my message was a reminder to people that when we come together in a lot of different ways we can accomplish a lot. I think it applies to sports, it applies to our country too and we need to come together.”

NBA Rumors: Nassir Little Contract Eyed by Celtics, Warriors, Heat and Kings | Bleacher Report

According to Keith Smith of Spotrac, forward Nassir Little has participated in workouts with the Boston Celtics, Golden State Warriors, Miami Heat and Sacramento Kings.

Little spent the 2023-24 season with the Phoenix Suns, appearing in 45 games and averaging 3.4 points and 1.7 rebounds. The Suns waived him on Aug. 27.

The 25th overall pick in the 2019 draft, Little spent the first four years of his career with the Portland Trail Blazers. He was shipped to Phoenix as part of the blockbuster three-team trade that sent star point guard Damian Lillard to the Milwaukee Bucks.

Warriors sign Javan Johnson and Donta Scott to Exhibit 10 deals, according to Hoops Hype

Rumored leaks of the Warriors City Edition jerseys for the upcoming season

NBA News:

ESPN NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski announced his retirement on Wednesday

Film Study: Bucks need to get back to top-10 defense | NBA

For the second straight season, the Bucks ranked in the top 10 in three of the four factors on defense (effective field goal percentage, rebounding percentage and free-throw rate), but they dropped in the rankings in all three categories. Only five teams saw a jump in opponent free-throw rate (FTA/FGA) from ’22-23 to last season, and the Bucks saw the third biggest.

Their opponents’ free-throw rate (and their opponents’ overall efficiency) was highest with reserves on the floor. Bobby Portis went from 2.3 (in ’22-23) to 3.4 fouls per 36 minutes, while Andre Jackson’s 5.8 fouls per 36 minutes were the most (by a huge margin) among 186 guards who played at least 500 minutes last season.

Fouls can also be tied back to point-of-attack defense and an inability to keep ball-handlers from getting into the pain

Is Rudy Gobert motivated? Will the offense get a boost? Five burning Wolves questions | The Athletic

But folks around the league will be watching them closely. They have not been a tax-paying team often in Taylor’s tenure as owner, and a disappointing finish this season could lead to the breakup of this core. Speculation will surely swirl around Towns’ future all season long, but Gobert is eligible for an extension and has one more season on his deal after this one. Reid has a player option on his deal for 2025-26 and could command a big raise and Alexander-Walker is entering the final year of his contract and will be due a big bump as well.

It is hard to see how the Wolves address all of that and keep this team largely together for any more than the next two years, so there will be urgency to win as much as they can right now.

In case you missed it at Golden State of Mind:

7 things that need to happen for the Warriors to contend this year

A motivated, rejuvenated, and in-control Draymond Green

“You’ll only go as far as your best player takes you” might be the mantra in the NBA, but “you’ll only go as far as your second-best player takes you” is pretty darn accurate too. And make no mistake: Green is still emphatically the team’s second-best player.

Similar to Curry, what the Warriors need from Green is something in between the All-World player that he once was, and what we saw last year. It starts with being in control, and not getting unnecessarily violent like last year. If he can stay on the court, motivated, and in top shape, he can play the whole year as the team’s quarterback, emotional leader, and defensive ace. The Dubs need all three of those things.

Follow @unstoppablebaby on Twitter for all the latest news on the Golden State Warriors.