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Jordan Poole is in his first season with the New Orleans Pelicans.
NBA fans brought up Draymond Green after Jordan Poole‘s reaction to a fight between Mark Williams and Jose Alvarado went viral. The game between the Phoenix Suns and New Orleans Pelicans was interrupted in the third quarter after punches were thrown on the court.
William Guillory of The Athletic detailed the incident that happened at the 2:06 mark of the third period. Alvarado was called for a foul after shoving Williams, who was setting a screen for Collin Gillespie.
The Puerto Rican guard tried to complain to the referee, but Williams got his attention after shoving him on the back. The reaction led to the grabbing of jerseys before Alvarado landed an overhand right to the face of the Suns’ 7-foot-1 center.
Williams seemingly hit Alvarado with an elbow to the head first and missed a follow-up punch. A last-second tap to the head of the Pelicans guard got in as players, coaches and referees pulled the two players apart.
Officials reviewed the incident and concluded that Alvarado and Williams will be ejected from the contest. The Suns ended up pulling away late in the fourth quarter to earn the 123-114 win.
Fans Bring Up Draymond After Poole’s Reaction
One of the players on the court during the fight was Jordan Poole, who was caught reacting to the punch by Jose Alvarado on Mark Williams.
NBA fans quickly took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to hilariously draw comparisons to Draymond Green’s infamous straight right hand to Poole during Golden State Warriors practice before the 2022-23 NBA season.
Here are some of the best reactions:
“Jordan Poole got instant flashbacks of Draymond Green,” a fan tweeted.
“Poole knows a good punch,” one fan reacted.
“Man’s PTSD spiked hard,” another fan wrote.
“He seen that before,” a fan joked.
“Jordan Poole knows all too well,” one fan quipped.
Green’s punch on Poole led to a tough campaign for the Warriors, as they failed to defend their NBA championship. The dynamic guard was then traded in the summer of 2023 to the Washington Wizards as part of a package for Chris Paul.
In two seasons with the Wizards, Poole averaged 18.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.2 steals per game. He was traded to the New Orleans Pelicans this past summer, along with Saddiq Bey and the draft rights to Micah Peavy, in a three-team deal involving the Houston Rockets.
Poole Might Get Traded Again
Jordan Poole has only played 14 games for the New Orleans Pelicans this season, averaging 16.0 points, 1.9 rebounds and 3.5 assists. Poole missed a month of action from November 5 to December 10 due to a quad strain.
Before Poole’s return on December 11 against the Portland Trail Blazers, ClutchPoints’ Brett Siegel reported that the one-time NBA champion could be traded again before the February 5 deadline.
“The emergence of (Jeremiah) Fears in his rookie season and Dejounte Murray targeting a return to the court in January has suddenly made Poole expendable to the Pelicans,” Siegel wrote.
The NBA insider added that Poole’s contract might be tough to trade, but he’ll likely have suitors in need of scoring and guard depth.
Juan Paolo David Juan Paolo David is a sports journalist covering basketball for Heavy. He has a decade of experience writing about the NBA and WWE. He’s currently based in the Philippines. More about Juan Paolo David
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