The Golden State Warriors had a good thing going with Jordan Poole before he departed for the Washington Wizards. Poole was instrumental in the Warriors clinching their fourth NBA championship in 2022.
The problem was, Poole was emerging as a young lion in the league while challenging superstar Stephen Curry for being the best free-throw shooter in the Association, and future Hall-of-Famer Klay Thompson for being the Warriors’ No. 2 guard. It was time for Poole to spread his wings and add to his bank account, but only the latter has come to its perfect perfection in Washington thus far.
Warriors: Jordan Poole’s move to the Wizards has not been as expected
Poole went from coming off the bench in Golden State to being the starting point guard in Washington. Yet, in 2023-24 — his first season in the nation’s capital — he saw a grand total of 0.1 minutes more per contest than the year prior, and his scoring decreased by three whole points from 20.4 PPG to 17.4 PPG. His assists also decreased. His field goal percentage also decreased. His three-point percentage and makes followed the same pattern.
Something did not add up. While he’s righted the ship through the first five games of the current campaign, highlighted by his 22.2 PPG and 4.4 3PM on a league-leading 2.8 steals per night, the Wizards are in full rebuild mode and are looking to potentially trade his co-star Kyle Kuzma.
Poole could rise to potential All-Stardom in a return to the Warriors
Case in point? It looks as if his starting role with the Wizards has not profited him anything more than his role with the Warriors. On top of that, Thompson is no longer in Golden State and the Warriors are now looking to keep their championship window open with Curry and Draymond Green. Poole could easily re-enter their lineup, earn more minutes, put up gaudier stats, and play more impactful basketball while basking in more limelight with a chance to win a second title.
The Warriors are currently rolling behind Buddy Hield and Andrew Wiggins, but Hield is coming off the bench and Wiggins has still yet to be returned to his normal workload. Thus, Golden State’s front office could offer the Wizards a trade package including the talented young guard Brandin Podziemski, Moses Moody, and quality center Kevon Looney, as well as a future first-round to the Wizards in exchange for the 25-year-old talent.
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The Wizards could go full rebuild in a win-win trade with the Warriors
While that sounds like a hefty price tag to pay, it would position the Warriors to compete. Washington could use more help in their frontcourt. Though they added Jonas Valanciunas in the offseason to a three-year, $30 million deal, he has been linked to the Los Angeles Lakers as a potential trade-deadline target.
Thus, taking on Looney would give the Wizards a strong backup center behind 2024 No. 2 overall draft pick Alex Sarr and position them to move off of Valanciunas without greatly feeling his absence. The Wizards would also get a guard in Moody who could burgeon into a volume scorer on a trajectory akin to Brooklyn Nets star Cam Thomas, and a versatile playmaker in Podziemski who is just scratching the surface as a future Swiss army knife star.
A Warriors lineup of Curry, Poole, Wiggins, Green, and Trayce Jackson-Davis with Hield and Jonathan Kuminga headlining their second unit would give Golden State three scorers with 25 PPG scoring abilities in their starting lineup and much playmaking up and down their roster. Even if the Warriors would need to throw Kuminga into that trade pot — who they’ve recently admitted that they are more than willing to trade — it’d be worth it. Poole may be that dream reunion that helps them hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy again in short order.
