Even though they are no longer colleagues in the game of basketball, Klay Thompson and Jordan Poole still have the ability to adjust to their designated bench roles.
Reporters questioned Thompson in the locker room after the Warriors’ 123–112 victory over the Washington Wizards on Tuesday at Capital One Arena. Thompson is adjusting to a career-defining Sixth Man position under coach Steve Kerr’s plan. Thompson was asked about Poole’s comparable circumstances.
Thompson fully supported his old colleague, with whom he shared an NBA championship, as was to be expected.
Klay informed reporters, “He’s coming off the bench before the 2022 playoffs.” He is able to draw on that experience. Jordan Poole is someone I adore. I am confident that he has many amazing seasons ahead of him.
But considering the dangerous situation of the Wizards (9-49) and Poole’s near-career low numbers over 56 games since Golden State moved him to Washington this past offseason, how is it possible?
Thompson believes he has time on his side despite the Wizards guard’s turbulent season.
“I think there’s a lot more on his shoulders to carry the load every night because, obviously, they’re in more of a rebuilding mode,” Thompson continued. “He has infinite time at his disposal.
“It really comes down to being reliable. He will arrive. He is still quite young. He is 23 years old.
Aside from being instrumental in the Warriors’ 2022 NBA championship run, Poole is perhaps one of the few NBA players this season to have gone through similar professional low points as Thompson. He was benched midway through his first full season in the nation’s capital.
Like Thompson, though, Poole is meeting the difficult circumstance head-on despite playing a smaller role for one of the league’s worst teams this season.
After the game, Poole stated, “I think we could do it a different way—I’ve expressed that” (via The Washington Post’s Ava Wallace). I work professionally. I’ll do everything the team asks of me.
“I’m going to constantly put forth my best effort to help us win. I suppose that is what it is if this is how we have to approach it in order for me to be attentive.
Though Poole is aware that Kerr’s choice of guard is influenced by Golden State’s willingness to contend for another championship.
“I feel that if that’s what it takes to win a championship, they’re in the hunt,” Poole continued.
Although Poole and Thompson are in different team circumstances, they are personally engaged in a comparable struggle.
The bright side is that they still support one another as friends and former teammates.
Jordan Poole’s Struggle After Warriors
There aren’t many sporting events as heartbreaking as the demise of a charismatic star. They become the focus of 300-page novels and 3,000-word novellas. Such stories elicit international derision in the wild stewpot that is social media.
It’s an awful, unwanted life. Once seen as a pillar of the Golden State Warriors following Stephen Curry, Jordan Poole is living it.
In July of last year, the Warriors dealt JP Poole to the Washington Wizards in exchange for Chris Paul. At the beginning of their rebuilding effort, JP’s potential was to be a key player for his new club. It also signified a new beginning for someone who really needed one.
The first four months of Poole’s tenure in Washington are not very noteworthy. This story is one of utter futility and utter failure. The Wizards are 9-48, and Poole’s exceptional abilities, which prompted the Warriors to offer him a four-year, $128 million contract in October 2022, have mostly been seen as a “out of order” sign.
Can one event—Poole being attacked by Draymond Green, a teammate of the Warriors—disturb an athlete’s career so drastically? The incident occurred during a preseason workout and was publicised on social media.
For Poole, it has already happened. He’s not the same player as before.
Poole’s Bay Area fan base is still substantial.
When the Warriors take on the Wizards on Tuesday at Capital One Arena, Poole will not look anything like the captivating force that strengthened them during the 2022 NBA playoffs. In that series, Poole averaged 17 points per game on 50.8 percent shooting from the field, including 39.1 percent from outside the arc.
The 24-year-old Poole was brought in as Washington’s mainstay, the team’s upcoming NBA All-Star, and a very entertaining combo guard who could step up and replace the legendary John Wall.
Poole’s scoring average is 16.1 points per game on 39.9% shooting, which includes 30.9 percent from long range. These are all the lowest figures since his Golden State rookie campaign. He started the first 52 games, but last week he was benched.
He frequently appears on the well-known video segment “Shaqtin’ a Fool,” in which Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal hosts a tournament aimed at making fun of players’ “entertaining” errors and blunders.
Then there was the comment made by respected commentator Bobby Marks of ESPN, who had worked with the Brooklyn Nets for over 20 years in a variety of roles, including assistant general manager.
In an interview with 95.7 The Game last week, Marks stated, “A lot of teams are calling the Jordan Poole contract one of the worst deals in the NBA right now.”
The Warriors “caught a break there,” Marks continued.
With this season being so poor, Poole needs all the help he can get. In the Bay Area, he continues to enjoy a large following, especially among those he worked closely with during his four seasons with the Warriors.
One of Poole’s closest friends in Golden State, Warriors player Andrew Wiggins, said to NBC Sports Bay Area, “I try to have fun with him and think about all the positive things.” Jordan is a gym rat, to put it one way. Because he frequents the gym, I have no doubt that he will figure it out.
In addition to their dissimilar personalities, Wiggins and Poole were drawn to each other since their locker spaces were next to one another. Poole was the bold and ostentatious practical joker, adept at nuanced irony. Wiggins is thoughtful and somewhat austere in his external thinking. The straight man and jokester both appreciated each other.
Another former player who developed a close relationship with Poole was Kevon Looney of the Warriors, who grew up in Milwaukee. Before having to change his approach due to several hip surgeries after college, Poole would frequently regale his friends with Looney’s exploits during his stellar high school career, saying things like, “You should’ve seen him.”
Similar to Wiggins, Looney seen firsthand the extraordinary abilities of Poole in the intensely brilliant and occasionally challenging NBA postseason light. It seemed logical to link Poole’s struggles with the Warriors last season to the preseason incident with Green.
But this isn’t like that. Poole is employed by a franchise that is located 2,500 miles from the Bay Area. This was meant to be a reset of the mind.
Looney described Looney to NBC Sports Bay Area as “a real emotional guy.” “I know that not being able to have the season he wants to be having really eats at him.
It’s difficult to see since I want the best for him. He’s among my closest buddies. I’m accustomed to supporting him. I managed to assist him while he was having trouble here. Although it’s challenging to accomplish that from a distance, I am aware of his strong sense of concern and drive for success.
Throughout his tenure with the Warriors, Poole’s work ethic was never called into doubt. Despite his extreme confidence, he was prepared to go above and beyond to live up to his high standards. Even though his performance appeared unserious at times, especially during the previous season, he was serious about pursuing stardom.
This season, in a new setting and with a leadership role, Poole’s performance is noticeably poorer than last season.
“I always try to give him encouragement when I do talk to him,” Looney remarked. “I’m confident he’ll figure it out. Both as a worker and a player, he excels. When you put in that much effort, you usually figure things out.
When I questioned another member of the Warriors circle about his thoughts on Poole’s performance in Washington, he slowly shook his head—neither the coach nor the player.
The person, who periodically played straight man to Poole’s humour, remarked, “It’s eating me up.” What a wonderful child. It pains me to watch him go through this.