Warriors' Draymond Green says a Jordan Poole reunion would be a 'non-issue' for him

Draymond Green says he won't be the obstacle if the Golden State Warriors ever decide to bring Jordan Poole back. Poole is now with New Orleans. After Golden State beat the Pelicans 138-87 on Monday, he said he would consider coming "home" to the team that drafted him in 2019. Green was asked about it in the locker room that night and again on his podcast, and both times he said a reunion would not bother him.

The comments matter because of how Poole left. His Warriors tenure ended after the 2022 practice altercation in which Green struck him. Green has since owned that. He told Danny Emerman of The San Francisco Standard that he was the one at fault, that he doesn't hold grudges, and that bringing Poole back is a decision for the Warriors, not for him. On the same night, Joseph Dycus of Bay Area News Group reported that Green said he would never stand in the way of the organization improving itself.

Some readers saw that second remark as a shot at Poole. On "The Draymond Green Show," Green pushed back on that reading, as NBC Sports Bay Area reported. He said he is a player who doesn't decide his own future with the team, never mind anyone else's. He also pointed to the Chris Paul trade: he told general manager Mike Dunleavy he wasn't fond of Paul but would not block a move that helped the roster. "If they were like, 'Man, we're bringing Jordan Poole in' — whether that's a trade, whatever it is — and I was still [with the Warriors], that's a non-issue for me," Green said.

None of this means a deal is close. But it takes away one obvious objection. Poole is 27 and averaged 17 points during the 2022 title run. According to the Standard, his teams since leaving have won 15, 18 and 26 games, and he had sat out five straight games before playing 34 minutes against Golden State. He has also stayed close with Steph Curry. Green, who is on an expiring contract himself, praised Poole's skill and said he understood why a player would want to return to where he had his best years.

What it means for Houston

The Poole question is for later. For now, the Warriors are playing as well as anyone. They lost their first three games, at the Lakers and against Memphis and Phoenix, and have won eight straight since to reach 8-3. The streak includes road wins at Denver and Minnesota and a 116-113 home win that got the Phoenix loss back. Monday's 51-point rout of New Orleans was the biggest margin of the run.

Even so, the market makes Houston a clear favorite for Wednesday's game at the Rockets. On this site's board, which tracks 12 venues, Novig has Houston favored at -208 and Golden State at +199. The best Warriors moneyline anywhere is Pinnacle's +200, so the venues are only a point apart on that side. Novig sets the spread at Houston -6.5. BetRivers has the shortest line, Rockets -5.5 at -130. The total is 221.5 at Novig and 223.5 at BetRivers. Sportsbook hold on the moneyline runs from 3.3% to 5.3%.