NBA analyst Stephen A. Smith of ESPN believes the Golden State Warriors should trade shooting guard Jordan Poole this summer.
Smith thinks Poole’s mindset changed after getting paid.
“I propose they do trade Jordan Poole,” Smith said. “I think that so much of Golden State’s success, outside of their shooting prowess and their cohesion and chemistry, is everybody being on the same page mentally and emotionally, and he didn’t seem to be that guy. He got his bag and his mentality changed.”
Poole signed a four-year, $128 million extension with the Warriors in October 2022. The extension kicks in next season. The Michigan product averaged a career-high 20.4 points for the Warriors this season while shooting 43.0% from the field, 33.6% from beyond the arc and 87.0% from the free-throw line.
However, Poole wasn’t able to carry over his regular-season success to the postseason. In 13 playoff games versus the Sacramento Kings and Los Angeles Lakers, Poole averaged 10.3 points while shooting an inefficient 34.1% overall and 25.4% from 3-point range. The Warriors, who won the championship last season over the Boston Celtics, lost to the Lakers in the Western Conference Semifinals in six games, with Poole averaging just 8.3 points in the series.
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Jordan Poole & Golden State Warriors Updates
It looks like Poole could be back with the Warriors next season, though, despite his postseason struggles. According to Anthony Slater and Shams Charania of The Athletic, the Dubs are hesitant to trade Poole this summer for a few reasons.
“There’s still hesitancy to move him,” Slater and Charania wrote. “Jordan Poole averaged 20.4 points this season and has potent offensive capability that is lacking on the roster below Curry and will be needed as the core ages further. Is it wise to move off of that when his value is at its lowest in 12 months? Will the money crunch dictate it?”
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Jordan Poole & Golden State Warriors Updates
Before the 2022-23 season began, Draymond Green punched Poole in the face and Warriors head coach Steve Kerr believes that incident ruined the “trust” on the team.
“Some of that (chemistry) was lost this year for sure,” Kerr said during his exit interview. “There’s no hiding from it. The incident with Draymond and Jordan at the beginning of the year played a role in that. It’s hard for that not to impact a team … Any time some trust is lost, it makes the process much more difficult and there was some trust lost. That’s as blunt as I can be.”
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