Jordan Poole getting traded to the Washington Wizards this offseason caught a lot of people in the NBA off-guard.
Just one year earlier, fresh off a championship, the Golden State Warriors handed Poole an extension that paid him in excess of $100 million. He was viewed by some as the heir apparent to Stephen Curry at certain points.
Then everything changed.
Obviously Draymond Green punching Poole before the 2022-23 NBA season set things off on the wrong foot, but Poole struggled beyond that, too. Curry was visibly frustrated with him at times. Klay Thompson seemed to dislike him. There were issues with head coach Steve Kerr.
It was bad, and it all culminated in Poole completely falling apart in the playoffs, shooting 34.1 percent from the field and 25.4 percent from beyond the arc en route to Golden State getting eliminated in the second round by the Los Angeles Lakers.
A few weeks later, Poole was traded to the Wizards.
As it turns out, although getting punched by Green obviously didn’t help any, that wasn’t Poole’s biggest issue with the Warriors last season.
Rather, he was apparently unhappy with the fact that he wasn’t being treated the way Curry, Thompson and Green were treated by the organization.
“The punch was kind of like the cherry on top, but there was some festering way before that during the season that had nothing to do with the punch,” NBA insider Jason Dumas revealed on "The Morning Roast." “He just wanted more playing time. He wanted to start. He wanted a role. Whether you think this is fair or not, he wanted to get treated like Steph, Klay and Dray, and he noticed that, in his opinion, wasn’t equal treatment. He didn’t appreciate it.”
It’s worth noting when so many people have a problem with you, maybe you’re the problem. Even Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard didn't like Poole.
There has to be a core reason why so many people beefed with Poole last season.
One way or another, Poole will get a fresh start with the Wizards. What will he ultimately do with it? Time will tell.
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