What do you do when the voice in your locker room, the heartbeat of your defense, and the emotional engine of your dynasty nearly derails it all in one swing? That’s the tightrope Steve Kerr had to walk with Draymond Green in 2022, a balancing act that still echoes today. Draymond and Steve, two figures who built Golden State’s identity, suddenly found themselves staring down a fracture no scheme could fix. And right in the middle of it stood Jordan Poole.

The infamous punch was more than a bad day at practice. It was years of tension wrapped into a single moment. In October of 2022, Draymond let his fists talk after a heated exchange with Poole. But to understand why that moment mattered, you’ve got to rewind. Back to November 2021, when Poole’s iso-heavy night rubbed Draymond the wrong way. The story has been told, re-told, and remixed so many times, it could have its own 30 for 30.

Back to the Warriors’ preseason trip in Japan, when Green reportedly told Poole he hadn’t earned his contract. And back to Steve Kerr quietly pulling Poole aside, telling him to stand up for himself.

According to Gilbert Arenas, Kerr once pulled Poole aside during a heated practice and told him point-blank: “Stand up for yourself. Be a man.” That little nudge set the stage for the fire that eventually clashed with Draymond’s fury. The buildup went from Poole’s sarcastic jabs (“you’re an expensive backpack for 30”) to full-on shoves before fists flew, with Draymond calling him a “b-tch”. It was chaos dressed in Warriors jerseys, and it fractured the locker room all season long.

Fast forward to now, Draymond’s hopping on Threads, dropping six blue-cap emojis (🧢🧢🧢🧢🧢🧢) at the latest resurfaced report by CourtsideHeat via @legendz_prod. Which means he’s calling cap, dismissing the story like yesterday’s box score. But here’s the real question: if Kerr hadn’t stepped in when he did, would the dynasty have cracked earlier?

For Kerr, the job shifted from drawing up rotations to damage control. He had to keep the team’s core intact, manage egos, and salvage a season where the Warriors were supposed to defend their title. The punch bruised trust. The Warriors limped through a rocky year, never looking like the seamless machine of old. And while Draymond eventually apologized, the writing was on the wall. By the summer, Poole was shipped to Washington.

Trouble in Green’s paradise

The Draymond-Poole saga keeps resurfacing because it wasn’t just about two teammates throwing punches. It was about a coach caught in the middle of two timelines. Steve Kerr knew Draymond was essential for his defense, playmaking, and his fire had fueled four championships. So much so, Kerr even once called Green “the best defensive player I’ve ever seen in my life.”

Poole, for his part, represented the future, the scorer who could bridge the gap after Steph Curry and Draymond Green aged out. Choosing between them was never going to be clean. Draymond, of course, stayed. Golden State gave him a new four-year, $100 million extension, effectively betting that his voice, volatile as it may be, was still worth more than Poole’s promise.

Kerr backed it publicly, framing Draymond as irreplaceable. But privately, he had to ask: how many more fires could he put out before the locker room burned down? Meanwhile, Poole’s path shifted. Once the rising star groomed as Curry’s heir, he left Golden State carrying the label of collateral damage. His fit in Washington changed when he was traded to the Pelicans in June ’25, but his departure back then was a reminder that in Golden State, Kerr’s vote of confidence still tilts toward the vets.

But for fans and media, the punch still lingers. The footage, the fallout… it’s too juicy to disappear. And that’s the bind for Kerr. He’s saved this team more than once, even when Draymond’s indefinite suspension back in 2023 raised alarms. Kerr said, “To me, this is about more than basketball, it’s about helping Draymond… I think it’s an opportunity for Draymond to step away and to make a change in his approach, in his life, and that’s not an easy thing to do.”

But how many times can he do it? Golden State’s dynasty isn’t dead, but it’s not invincible either. The next flare-up could be one Kerr can’t manage away. For now, Draymond’s cap emojis keep the story spinning, Kerr keeps steadying the ship, and Warriors fans keep asking the same question: how many more second chances does one dynasty get?