Draymond Green returns to Warriors, says he's 'learned new things about myself'
Draymond Green back at practice after punching teammate last week
The Golden State Warriors are trying to put an ugly incident that was leaked to the media behind them. Draymond Green was caught on camera punching teammate Jordan Poole during practice last week. Now, Green is back at practice and will play in tomorrow's pre-season game at the Chase Center.
SAN FRANCISCO - Warriors forward Draymond Green returned to the team Thursday after he punched his teammate Jordan Poole, saying he's learned new things about himself and doesn't want the incident to define him.
"Yeah, we had a great practice," Green said after practice at Chase Center in San Francisco. He was asked how he did while he was away.
"It was great. I spent a lot of time with my kids," he said.
SEE ALSO: Warriors' Draymond Green fined, won't be suspended for punching teammate at practice
Green was introspective at times.
"The moment you stop working on yourself, you get worse, so I think I learned new things about myself every day. That's always the goal," he said.
He says he's in a better place.
"I think the more time you get away from the things, the better," Green said. "We had our conversations about what we needed to do moving forward, and we're going to do that."
For his part, Warriors coach Steve Kerr said, "Just a good day at practice. Good to have Draymond back. We had a good vibe."
At practice last week, Green punched Poole, as seen in video that was leaked to TMZ.
On Thursday, Kerr said things were back to normal, so much so that "there's literally nothing to report. We've been here so long. You just practice, and everybody was there."
But Green was nowhere to be seen at least during the time the media was allowed to shoot video at the practice. He emerged hours later and addressed the media.
Poole was spotted at practice but did not speak to reporters afterward.
Kerr says Green was fined, but not suspended, for punching Poole. The amount of the fine wasn't disclosed.
But Kerr did say that team cohesion and continuity were critical factors in bringing Green back.
"We just know each other so well. You know, this is not a group that's been thrown together. We've all been together for so long," Kerr said.
For the players, it seemed to be business as usual
"Practice was good, energy was good, pretty long practice," said Warriors center Kevon Looney.