It looks like Jordan Poole could be back with the Golden State Warriors next NBA season. According to Anthony Slater and Shams Charania of The Athletic, the Warriors 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?”
Poole signed a four-year, $128 million extension with the Warriors in October 2022. The lucrative extension kicks in next season. Poole, who appeared in all 82 games this season, averaged a career-high 20.4 points while shooting 43.0% from the field, 33.6% from beyond the arc and 87.0% from the free-throw line.
However, the Michigan product struggled in the playoffs versus the Sacramento Kings and Los Angeles Lakers. Poole averaged 10.3 points while shooting only 34.1% overall and 25.4% from 3-point range in 13 postseason games. The Warriors lost to the Lakers in the Western Conference Semifinals in six games, with Poole averaging 8.3 points in the series.
Before the 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.”
Green can become an unrestricted free agent this summer if he declines his player option for next season. It will be interesting to see how the dynamic between Poole and Green goes moving forward if they are teammates in 2023-24.
More must-reads: