Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green said on The Draymond Green Show that a return to Golden State by Jordan Poole would be “a non-issue” for him. Poole, who spent his first four NBA seasons with the Warriors, said after Monday’s game at Chase Center that he would be open to coming back.
Poole made the comments after Golden State beat the New Orleans Pelicans 138-87, the Warriors’ largest margin of victory in a home game since 1991, according to NBC Sports Bay Area. He told Danny Emerman of the San Francisco Standard that he is in the final year of his contract and will become a free agent after the season. “Yes. It just feels like home, though, you know?” Poole told the Standard.
Green answered a question about Poole’s comments after the same game. A clip of his answer spread on Instagram afterward.
“I saw on Instagram my clip was, ‘I have no issue with that.’ I love how all the clickbait media publications try to clip one little piece of what you say, and then try to use it to stir up controversy,” Green said.
“And I told them I don’t have a problem with that at all,” Green said. “Number one, I don’t make decisions here. I’m a basketball player. I don’t decide my own future here, let alone someone else’s. That’s number one.”
“What I said was also, I’m an adult,” Green said. “So if you’re asking me as if that’s going to be a problem for me, that’s no problem for me. I’m not someone who walks around with a grudge. And to be honest with you, why would I even walk around with a grudge? That’s not really even for me.”
Draymond Green Recalls Chris Paul Trade Call
Golden State traded Poole to the Washington Wizards after the 2022-23 season in a package for Chris Paul. Before that deal, Green took a phone call from Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr., and he described that conversation on the show.
“I said, ‘Mike, listen, me and Chris Paul have not seen eye to eye. It’s my brother now, but we’ve not seen eye to eye in our career. Can’t say that I’m very fond of him at all,’” Green said. “What I can tell you is that will not be an issue. I’m an adult. He’s an adult. We will figure it out, how adults figure it out. And man, it’s become a relationship that I actually cherish. I cherish my relationship with CP.”
“But my point when I told Mike then, I said, Mike, I wouldn’t stand in the way of what you think this team need, or what can help make this team better. I would never stand in the way of that,” Green said. “And so same went for last night when I was asked that. And so those were the comments I share, and I stand by that.”
“I’m not someone that walks around holding on to things. I know how to move forward. And I always move forward. I don’t move backwards. I move forward,” Green said. “So wishing him the best on his journey and whatever that may entail for him, but that’s a non-issue for me at all.”
Jordan Poole’s Season In New Orleans
Golden State drafted Poole 28th overall in 2019. He averaged 18.5 points in the 2021-22 regular season and 18 points per game in the playoffs as the Warriors won the championship, then signed a four-year contract extension, according to NBC Sports Bay Area. A practice altercation with Green in October 2022 came before a 2022-23 season in which Poole averaged 10.3 points on 34.1% shooting in the playoffs.
Poole averaged 18.8 points in Washington before landing in New Orleans. This season he is averaging a career-low 6.6 points on 19.2% shooting from the field and 23.4% from 3-point range in 19.6 minutes per game, per NBC Sports Bay Area. After Monday’s loss, Poole noted that he has played for five coaches in four seasons. He also traded jerseys with Warriors rookie Yaxel Lendeborg, a fellow former Michigan player, according to The Associated Press.
Poole’s first game back at Chase Center as an opponent came on Dec. 22, 2023, when he scored 25 points for Washington, according to the NBA. On a return visit in January 2025, he scored 38 points for Washington in a loss at Chase Center. Green, who left that game early with an injury, responded on X to Poole saying he loved most of his former teammates by posting, “I really am sorry,” according to NBC Bay Area.
Golden State (8-3) opens a five-game road trip at the Houston Rockets on Wednesday at 9:30 p.m. ET, according to the NBA. The trip includes a stop in New Orleans after a game at San Antonio.
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