One of the most respected members of the Golden State Warriors made some interesting comments about this summer’s Jordan Poole trade that seems to suggest it maybe wasn’t the right decision for the team.
After being drafted late in the first round of the 2019 NBA Draft, the Golden State Warriors developed Jordan Poole into a player with legitimate All-Star potential. He hit a peak when he became their top player off the bench in 2021-2022 and played a pivotal role in the franchise winning their seventh NBA title that season.
However, things changed fast this past season. The young star was on the wrong end of a punch in practice from team leader Draymond Green, and it seemingly sent him down a path where he regressed in several key ways. For many Warriors fans, he was part of what was wrong with their failed attempt to defend their championship in 2022-2023.
That’s why it wasn’t completely surprising when the organization shipped him off to the Washington Wizards this summer. However, it seems that Andre Igudola — an eight-season veteran of the team — doesn’t think the heat he took last season was fair. And that the team may have lost a player that could drop 30 points a game if given a lead role in the future.
Golden State Warriors record (’22-’23): 44-38
“He averaged 20 last year, on a bad year,” Igudola said during an appearance on the “Gil’s Arena” podcast. “He’s going to get to the line. He’s the only one who got to the line for us last year consistently. People act like he had a bad year. I’m like, ‘OK, a bad year? Y’all blamed him for the year we had last year and he averaged 20.'”
Jordan Poole averaged a career-best 20.4 points per game last season, however, his shooting percentage fell from .448 to .430 and he also incurred nearly a full turnover more in ’22-’23. The organization landed future Hall-of-Famer Chris Paul in the trade.
With Poole no longer being a third or fourth option behind the likes of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Andrew Wiggins, the 19-year NBA veteran sees big things for the new Washington Wizards guard next season.
“You have to give him the whistle at home. He’s going to average 30 at home. And it’s Chocolate City, so you know who’s going to be in the stands, they got all the memes. Every time he sees a bad chick, he’s going for 40,” Igudola joked. “He’s already starting to make the right strides. … The other day, I was asking him about his teammates, and he knew everything about every one of them. And I’m like ‘OK, now we starting off on the right path.’ He brought them all out to LA. He did! He’s leading.”
It should be interesting to see how the former Golden State Warriors talent performs in a duo with Kyle Kuzma in DC next season.