While many have speculated that the Draymond Green vs. Jordan Poole dynamic was a significant factor in the Golden State Warriors deciding to swap the young guard for Chris Paul, Warriors owner Joe Lacob recently revealed the truth about that situation.
Speaking with 95.7 The Game, Lacob said, “I don’t wanna say absolutely that’s true. I think it’s fair to say that there was some level of concern going forward, whether that was going to be something that would work out. To be honest with you, I think it would have worked out and could have worked out. But I think it is fair to say that in order to make the team work next year, to make the numbers work and so on, someone probably was gonna be the odd man out. It just turned out – and it wasn’t planned, that it was Jordan [Poole].”
While Lacob admitted some level of concern about the Green vs. Poole dynamic, he did not single that out as the reason for making the trade. Instead, Lacob was honest in acknowledging the roster crunch that had presented itself as a result of so many players making max or near-max money, which led to somebody becoming the odd man out. That ended up being Poole, which Lacob feels was mostly separate from his relationship with Green.
