Warriors Outcast Jordan Poole Finds a New Niche in Diminished NBA Role

Ever since the Golden State Warriors traded out Jordon Poole, he has been struggling with consistency. The 24-year-old showed snippets of great ball handling, dribbling, and shooting skills throughout his career. At the same time, he gave away too many turnovers and loose shots. It eventually opened him to the exit door from the Bay Area. However, the star seemed to have found his form with a new role in the Washington Wizards‘ threads after a disappointing start to the season.

Poole teamed up with Kyle Kuzma ahead of the season, and the union promised to make wonders in the league. While the team looked lethal offensively on paper, it didn’t reflect on the court. On top of it, Poole failed to make an impression on the starting line-up. Apart from three 30-point games, including a career-best 43 points, he didn’t make much impact. And, the team decided to push him to the bench. The rising star, in return, seemed to have embraced the role with ease.

Poole has been averaging 23.4 points with his new role, coming off the bench while he averaged around 16 points, starting the game. At the same time, he had only made three 30-point games in his previous role, but in the 7 games alone with a new role, he has dropped three 30-pointers already.

In fact, Poole started his career from the bench for the Dubs. And he gradually worked his way up to the starting line-up. Notably, he played a crucial role in the Dubs’ 2022 championship run. While the core three, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green took charge from the front, Poole contributed offensively from the bench, with an average play-time of 30 minutes per game. However, it all came crashing down with an unfortunate incident and a new role in the last season.

How did things go south for the former Warriors star?

Almost everyone in the NBA world is aware of the Green-Poole incident. Things took a different route when Green threw a punch at Poole in the Warriors’ practice facility. This incident also played its part in the youngster’s exit, as there were multiple reports about the star’s disappointment with the team.

At the same time, he also received a surprise call-up in the starting line-up in the Dubs unit after Steph’s injury. The superstar missed a series of games because of a shoulder injury last season, and Poole got the opportunity to take his place in return. While he put up a decent show, it might have pushed him to a starting role prematurely, causing him all the trouble with the Wizards earlier in this current season. What do you make of Poole’s new role? Let us know in the comments below.

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