Sports media from TMZ to ESPN to the rapper Cam’Ron has chased down the story of what Golden State Warriors guard Jordan Poole said to four-time NBA champion Draymond Green last fall that caused Green to punch his young teammate. After a year of waiting, the truth appears to have arrived from the mouth of Ezra Edelman, the Oscar-winning ESPN director and producer behind OJ: Made in America.
In a Friday episode of Pablo Torre Finds Out from Meadowlark Media, Torre interviewed serious journalist and unabashed Warriors fan Edelman to get to the bottom of a lead Edelman received about the words exchanged between Poole and Green that day.
Edelman, a filmmaker on ESPN’s 30 for 30 series and former producer on HBO’s Real Sports, received a text message while at dinner with Torre recently that included the quote from Poole that allegedly was the final straw leading Green to sock him in the face.
“You’re an expensive backpack for 30,” said Poole, according to the message Edelman received.
“It is a good line,” Edelman admitted after Torre explained that the message clearly was meant to indicate 2022 Finals MVP Stephen Curry carried Green on his back to their four championships.
Torre asked dozens of people connected to the Warriors to verify Edelman’s text. Nobody responded on the record.
Torre did receive word on background that Golden State staffers also believe that line is what led to Green striking Poole.
With that all out of the way, now to the hilarious part. Edelman is a very serious journalist and a very deadpan speaker. He also loves the team this rumor surrounds. It’s easy to see Torre had to plead (and do significant reporting) for Edelman to discuss this publicly.
“It was the most important thing that happened to the team in the last year, but I’m just not sure that trying to figure out what was said that incited this incident matters at all at this point,” Edelman said.
“Because like the Warriors and the Wizards and Jordan Poole and Draymond Green, I would like to move on to this season even though I’m ****ing sitting here and talking about this with you. And the only reason I’m doing it is because I’m aware, one, you guys did your homework and you actually got somewhere with this.”
“And secondly I do believe that when Media Day happens next week with the Golden State Warriors and the Washington Wizards, I believe the topic will come up again. So with that, I don’t think the thing is dead.”
Where base instinct and personal allegiances said no, Edelman’s journalistic sensibilities won out.
Watching Edelman hem and haw through the episode is admittedly hilarious. But Torre’s new show has already established a reputation in the space as one that brings secondary sources on his show to talk around and through big topics in sports.
Regardless.
Did you have the director of perhaps the best sports doc of all time scooping all the NBA insiders on the story that shook the Bay Area?
We didn’t either.
