Jordan Poole was once viewed as a future star for the Golden State Warriors after helping them win the NBA championship in 2022. A 22-year-old Poole impressed during that run, averaging 17.0 points, 2.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 0.8 steals per game while shooting 50.8% from the field.

It looked like the Warriors had found another Splash Brother next to Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, but disaster struck a few months after that triumph. Draymond Green punched Poole during a team practice on Oct. 5, and that would prove to be the beginning of the end of the latter’s time with the Warriors.

Poole had an up-and-down 2022-23 season and followed that up with some disastrous performances in the playoffs. He averaged 10.3 points on 34.1% shooting from the field in the postseason and was traded to the Washington Wizards in July 2023.

Poole’s relationship with Green completely breaking down is often cited as the biggest reason for his exit, but it appears there was another big one. The San Francisco Standard’s Tim Kawakami stated on the “Tom Tolbert Show” that Thompson wasn’t happy with the youngster wanting his spot in the lineup.

“They had to move off of Jordan for two reasons, well, Draymond and Klay,” Kawakami said on the Tom Tolbert Show. “I’ve heard this more and more that Klay was not comfortable with this guy pushing him. And Klay thought, ‘I’ve earned this starting role. Why is this guy keeps saying he should be the starter?’

“And not publicly, maybe so much as just in the way he carried himself,” Kawakami added. “And that’s fine for a young player, but they couldn’t keep that guy that got punched by Draymond, not his fault, and who was making things tense with Klay.”