The Golden State Warriors are set to see more of former guard Jordan Poole next season, with the 2022 champion traded by the Washington Wizards to the New Orleans Pelicans almost two years to the day from his Bay Area departure.
Poole joins a young and talented Pelicans squad looking to bounce-back from the injury-ravaged disaster of last season, but the 26-year-old could also face a similar problem to what he faced in his final year with the Warriors.
Jordan Poole may not get enough offensive opportunity
In a recent article Sports Illustrated’s Liam Willerup outlined Poole as the potential X-Factor for New Orleans next season, noting that he “could be the piece they need to get over the hump.”
Labelling Poole as an X-Factor is perhaps the best way you could describe him, but you’d also be after more consistency from a player who still has two years and $66 million remaining on a contract he initially signed with Golden State.
In fairness the Pelicans will be buoyed by the fact that Poole averaged a career-high in points (20.5), assists (4.5), 3-point percentage (37.8) and 3-point attempts (9.1) last season. The issue with that is he led the rebuilding Wizards in usage rate, something he’s highly unlikely to be afforded at the Pelicans.
Zion Williamson and Trey Murphy III should both see far more control of the offense, while Poole will also have to share ball-handling duties with fellow guards in Dejounte Murray and seventh overall pick Jeremiah Fears.
The question now becomes whether Poole can become valuable enough as more of a supplementary piece, rather than having the ball in his hands almost every possession. He was an extremely valuable contributor to the Warriors’ 2022 championship team, but his impact also dwindled at times when it mattered most.
Poole drew plenty of criticism for his performance in the 2023 playoffs, having become almost unplayable in the second-round series against the Los Angeles Lakers where he averaged 8.3 points on 34.5% shooting from the floor and 25% from 3-point range.
As good as Poole can be, he doesn’t offer anything in the way of defense and can often be a streaky shooter. That was no issue on a Wizards team where he was the main guy and where winning didn’t matter, but there certainly should be some concerns on his fit at the Pelicans given the contract he’s on.
It was those concerns that led the Warriors to trading Poole before the contract even started, not to mention the Draymond Green punch that set in motion the end to what was supposed to be a long and prosperous career in the Bay.
