Draymond Green's podcast returned today from a months-long hiatus that began shortly after he punched the hell out of his teammate, Jordan Poole, during a team practice. Green spends some time in this most recent episode reflecting on the incident, and in the process of doing so reveals an interesting fact: somewhere out there is an unreleased episode of the show, which Green recorded right after punching Poole in the face.
What's most interesting about this is Green's explanation for why the episode was never released. "I hated the way I sounded," he says. "... I didn't like my tone, I didn't like the things I said, I didn't like the way it came out. If you're not careful it almost comes off as un-remorseful and distasteful. One-hundred percent distasteful, but also fast."
Upon first listen, this might leave a person with the impression that Green possesses a strong and even admirable sense of humility and self-awareness. After all, it's easy to grab a podcast mic and let various thoughts spill out of your head after making a huge mistake, but it takes a level head and real discernment to listen back to what you said and conclude that, hmmmmm, maybe this was handled poorly and not everyone needs to hear this. But that impression dissipates as soon as you remember that Green did end up publicly talking about the punch just a few days later, in one of the most tone-deaf pieces of media ever created.
You remember this, don't you? The soft-focus mini-documentary that aired on TNT ahead of the Warriors' season opener. The one that featured Green speaking softly into a ring light about his personal journey of growth since deciding to throw a haymaker into his co-worker's face without provocation. The one that contained neither a hint or whiff of an apology, but gave plenty of space for Green to say things like, "I was told the world has been able to see one of your worst moments. Look at all the upside you have now. And it’s a totally different way of looking at it.”
If that shameless mini-doc is Green's idea of a measured, properly remorseful response to clobbering Poole, then what the hell was said on that lost podcast episode? How exactly does this man define "distasteful" if what he said on TNT doesn't fit the definition? I feel like the only conclusion to draw here is that immediately after punching Poole, Green went into the podcast studio, turned on the mic, and started popping champagne bottles while boasting about the power and precision of his punching technique.
