On the latest episode of Los Angeles Clippers small forward Paul George’s NBA podcast, Golden State Warriors shooting guard Klay Thompson talked about the Jordan Poole trade. The Warriors traded Poole to the Washington Wizards for NBA legend Chris Paul.
“It hurts to see Jordan go,” Thompson said. “That’s the nature of the beast in this business. JP was homegrown. I saw him put the work in. I saw him go 2-15 in a game but then he would be in the dungeon after — which we call our practice facility because it has no windows — getting shots up right after the game and that reminded me of my younger self.
“To see JP follow that same footing, I’m like, ‘Man, this kid is gonna be special.’ And we wouldn’t have won the championship without him. He was so important when Steph went down and we played that series against Denver. So Jordan is forever going to be cherished in the Warriors lore just for what he did and helped bring us back to where we needed to go and I know he’s going to do great things in Washington. That’s like Steph and I’s little bro.”
Poole signed a four-year, $128 million extension with the Warriors in October 2022. The extension kicks in next season. The shooting guard averaged a career-high 20.4 points for the Warriors last 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 2023 NBA 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 lost to the Lakers in the Western Conference Semifinals in six games.
According to Tim Kawakami of The Athletic, the Warriors thought Poole was an “extraneous” and “inefficient” member of their roster, which is why they traded him to the Wizards for Paul.
“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.”
Warriors power forward Draymond Green punched Poole in the face before the 2022-23 season started. It will be fascinating to see if Poole and Green shake hands when Washington and Golden State face each other next season.
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