Jordan Poole has struggled to make a big impact for the Golden State Warriors in their series against the Los Angeles Lakers, and it is prompting some negative commentary from anonymous NBA executives.
In a piece by Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report assessing Poole’s value to the Warriors, a number of executives commented that Poole might not be a good fit for the franchise going forward. Several expressed surprise that Golden State opted to extend Poole’s contract when they did, and one had a particularly brutal assessment of what Poole brings.
“He doesn’t defend, doesn’t really create for others and that Draymond [Green] incident wasn’t a great look for either of them,” one anonymous executive said. “The intel on Poole [and his presence in the locker room] isn’t great.”
Poole’s season started with an altercation that saw him get punched by teammate Draymond Green, which sparked some rumors that Poole had been annoying some of the team’s veterans. Some of those claims have resurfaced lately during the team’s playoff run.
Poole averaged a career-high 20.4 points per game during the regular season, but is averaging just 10.5 points in the playoffs while shooting just 27.8 percent from three-point range. If Poole’s shots are not falling, his value diminishes significantly, and that is prompting a lot of the questions and criticism of his play that have emerged lately.
The 23-year-old guard signed a four year, $128 million contract prior to the start of the season. If the Warriors want to move him, that could prove to be a significant impediment.
