The Golden State Warriors’ season ended in disappointment, after their elimination in the West semifinals.
The coach Steve Kerr, after the last defeat, were unanimous in talking about the feeling that they were not a champion team.
According to ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne , the campaign was marked by a split within the roster of former champions.
Shelburne found that Draymond Green’s assault on Jordan Poole caused deep damage in the locker room. The incident happened in pre-season, but it had repercussions throughout the entire campaign.
It was the trigger, in short, for a crisis between the veterans and young people in the cast. The division in the team never managed to be resolved throughout the year – and even got worse at times.
“Draymond’s punch didn’t just knock out Jordan, but the entire team. It was the beginning of a climate of tension between the champion base and the young talents of the organisation.” Shelburne said.
“The franchise hoped that everything would settle down one day, but the mood never improved. Not even Jordan’s relative silence was able to appease the war behind the scenes,” Shelburne added.
Many pundits believe that the reason for the aggression was already a spark of this arm wrestling.
Poole, after all, was negotiating its prior extension with the team at the time. Meanwhile, the Warriors met with Green to close out the chance to extend the idol’s bond early.
The internal climate of mistrust, however, did not stop there. Shelburne learned that the video leak of the punch to TMZ also left scars.
“The team opened an investigation to find out who gave up the registration, but, in the end, no punishment was announced. And with that, the breached trust was never restored either,” Shelburne said.
