Report: Warriors’ season was negatively impacted by 1 notable factor

Jan 18, 2020; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr stands on the sideline during the fourth quarter against the Orlando Magic at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

The Golden State Warriors never quite clicked this season before their elimination Friday at the hands of the Los Angeles Lakers. Their issues started with the preseason altercation between Jordan Poole and Draymond Green.

Parts of that incident hung over the team all season, according to a new report.

While the Warriors did not say much publicly about Green punching Poole during a preseason practice, the incident did exacerbate lingering tensions within the organization, according to Ramona Shelburne of ESPN. However, there was another damaging incident in the aftermath of the punch itself.

A team source told Shelburne that TMZ acquiring leaked video of Green’s punch badly damaged trust within the organization, as no culprit was ever uncovered despite an internal investigation.

“People changed after that,” the source told Shelburne. “Everybody was suspicious for a while.”

The leaked video publicly undermined the Warriors’ initial characterization of the incident and efforts to keep the fallout in-house. It is understandable why the team was so frustrated by theleak, and it is perfectly logical that players would be a bit more suspicious after the video went public.

Green can opt out to become a free agent this offseason, though it seems likely he will be back with Golden State.