During his introductory press conference with the Washington Wizards on July 8, Jordan Poole dodged a question by an NBA reporter who asked him about getting punched by Draymond Green last year.
Green punched Poole in the face before the 2022-23 season started. The Golden State Warriors, who lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2023 Western Conference Semifinals in six games, traded Poole to the Wizards for Chris Paul.
It looks like Poole is ready for the next chapter of his career with the Wizards and doesn’t want to talk about Green and the Warriors anymore.
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 Dubs last season while shooting 43.0% from the field, 33.6% from beyond the arc and 87.0% from the free-throw line.
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Jordan Poole, Golden State Warriors & Washington Wizards Updates
However, Poole wasn’t able to carry over his regular-season success to the 2023 postseason. In 13 playoff games versus the Sacramento Kings and Lakers, Poole averaged 10.3 points while shooting an inefficient 34.1% overall and 25.4% from 3-point range.
According to Tim Kawakami of The Athletic, the Warriors thought Poole was an “extraneous” and “inefficient” member of their roster, which is they traded him.
“What’s clear to me after a few days of checking around is that this all began when the Warriors decided that Poole was an extraneous and inefficient member of their roster,” Kawakami wrote. “That was the precipitating issue. The Warriors wanted out of the $123 million deal they gave Poole only eight months earlier because his play last season didn’t meet that value, especially given their extreme luxury-tax pressures.”
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Jordan Poole, Golden State Warriors & Washington Wizards Updates
Poole and Kyle Kuzma are the best players on the Wizards now, while the Warriors will start Paul, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins and Green next season.
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