The Green-Poole incident puts into perspective the fragility of chemistry for Raptors

Could it ever happen here?

That’s the question teams around the NBA have probably been asking themselves ever since the video Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green’s unprovoked goofball hit went public and viral late last week (sorry, trashtalking in practice – Jordan Poole’s obvious sin – doesn’t justify being attacked while defenseless).

The Warriors are the NBA’s flagship franchise, a consistent winner and home to some of the sport’s most respected stars, so it seems fair to conclude that some kind of madness could happen anywhere.

The Toronto Raptors, for example, place a high value on team chemistry. They actively cultivate it with an off-season program that regularly brings their team together in low-pressure environments to help grow and deepen bonds. They design and acquire players who they believe will not only fit into the existing group but enhance the chemistry already in place, like the signing of respected veteran and widely recognized NBA do-gooder Thaddeus Young or the addition of Otto Porter Jr .Character Veteran.

With their first high lottery pick in years, the Raptors sifted through a talented pool of applicants to select Scottie Barnes, who — in addition to being incredibly gifted and extremely competitive — had a well-deserved reputation as a fun and positive teammate.

But team building is fragile, and everything can change in the blink of an eye, as the Green video shows.

Because of this, no one within the NBA, or rather the Warriors Green, is vocally condemning or calling for his suspension or dismissal. There’s a definite “there is only for the grace of God” vibe surrounding the whole thing, and why there is so much concern that the evidence of what would be a crime in any other area of ​​life has become public, rather than of the act itself .

When you know that your team could go viral in an instant if the wrong moment went public, you tend to be hard and quick to judge what’s happening in other people’s homes, for yourself.

“Firstly, I like to mind my own business,” said Fred VanVleet, one of the team’s leaders and the person so often tasked with speaking publicly about sensitive issues. “[The Warriors situation] it’s nobody’s business and I know it’s out in the open which is a shame…

“But in general you never really know what you have [in terms of chemistry] until you hit an obstacle,” added VanVleet. “You don’t want this adversity to come from within. Most of the time you take care of it internally, but we’ll see.”

More likely we won’t, but that doesn’t mean things aren’t bound to happen.

The Raptors are in the early stages of a long, intense journey that, if all goes well, will keep them together almost day and night for the better part of the next seven months. There will be long flights, sleepless nights, injuries, burglaries, spats, fights, and through it all, hopefully enough wins that there’s something to celebrate at the end.

Things will go wrong. The challenge is to make sure the issues are resolved before anyone feels justified – even for a moment – in slapping a teammate in the face.

“For our group, it’s just ironing things out and seeing how we can keep getting better and growing,” said VanVleet. “We have a lot of different tracks and a lot of different talent growing at different rates. It’s a funky group. Sometimes you have to put it together and see what’s best for the team.”

The Warriors’ situation is at the extreme end of what happens when groups of competing men, accustomed to physical expression, are crammed together for long periods of time. No one who has played any sport seriously can not know teammates – even friendly ones – who get heated and emotions spill over. But almost always a “fight” consists of a lot of talking, a few nudges, or harmless punches before the parties separate.

On the other hand, everyone should know by now that the environment in which professional athletes work bears little resemblance to where the rest of us mere mortals go to earn our daily bread.

The requirements are different, the rewards are different, and the rules are different.

For example, in a “normal” work environment, Green would be fired immediately and almost certainly prosecuted, while Poole would be able to file a lawsuit. Based on the video, it’s almost impossible to argue otherwise.

But in the NBA?

The whole incident could have been swept under the rug and never discussed publicly TMZ Sports didn’t get the clip of the moment a wink is over. As far as it was raised, it would be dealt with “internally”.

In professional sports, it is always about winning games first and – close second – managing public perception.

Because of this, even sane minds like Warriors head coach Steve Kerr seemed just as upset by the leaked evidence as they were by the crime itself.

There’s hope for the Raptors that they don’t have to deal with a moment as explosive as what happened in the Golden State while acknowledging that no matter what precautions are taken, things will happen.

“I think you have to give credit to the management and the coaching staff. They have their hands full putting together a dressing room that works before we even step onto the pitch,” said VanVleet. “I think we did a good job building this backup. It feels more like a Raptors team now.

“I know after the championship we kind of had to find the best there is. Seems like we have more of our picks and our guys and lads that fit the mold and we need to keep building on that. And the best way to do that is to come to work every day and keep winning ball games. When you win games, everyone is happy.”

you would hope. The Warriors are the defending champions of the NBA, having won four titles in the last eight years.