Tag: jordan poole

On Jordan Poole, Kyle Kuzma and the Wizards offense

Per NBC Sports Washington:

One aspect of the Wizards that could add intrigue and potentially make for a fun 2023-24 season is the unknown element of what they will be. The team was significantly reshaped this summer, namely with the trades sending Bradley Beal and Kristaps Porzingis elsewhere.

What is arguably fairly clear, however, is that Jordan Poole and Kyle Kuzma are set up to be focal points in the Wizards’ offense. They both averaged 20-plus points per game last season and they also happen to be the highest-paid players on the team. The odds appear good; those two will be the Wizards’ top scorers this season…

Get ready to see a lot of threes from Poole and Kuzma, as both of them were top-20 last season among qualified players in 3-point attempts per game. They combined to take over 15 threes per game with Poole at 7.8 attempts per contest and Kuzma at 7.5. The Wizards as a team averaged 31.7 3-point shots last season and Poole and Kuzma could account for about half that number all by themselves. Only once in Wizards franchise history have they featured two players who averaged at least 7.0 threes attempted per game (2019-20: Beal, Davis Bertans).

FULL ARTICLE

Chris Paul being traded to the Warriors

Via the Bay Area News Group:

Chris Paul — yes, that Chris Paul — is now a Golden State Warrior. He was traded Thursday by Washington for Jordan Poole, Ryan Rollins, and draft picks.

It’s going to take a while for us to collectively wrap our heads around this one.

But at the core of it all is the well-known fact that everyone can overlook things when they’re desperate.

The Warriors were desperate to rid themselves of Poole. The four-year, $123 million contract extension he signed before the start of last season was proven to be a mistake for the team. Not only did Poole fail to perform like a nine-figure player and future face of the franchise this past season — particularly in the playoffs — but the emotional damage that rippled through the team following Draymond Green’s punch of Poole in the preseason never healed.

Warriors need more from Jordan Poole

Via the San Jose Mercury News:

Jordan Poole posing more of a downhill threat and getting to the free-throw line could be the difference-maker the Warriors need to counter the upstart Sacramento Kings.

Poole can be most impactful when he’s aggressive attacking the rim and making smart plays with the ball. He led the team with 550 points in the paint this season. He also got to the free throw line a team-high 415 times. But concern over his bum left ankle might hinder him from being able to do that.

Poole started this first-round series strong. He was smart and effective on offense and disrupted some on defense.

Poole scored 13 points on 4 of 7 shooting and got to the free-throw line four times in the first half of Game 1 on Saturday.

But he sprained his ankle late third quarter and hasn’t been the same since.

Warriors sign Jordan Poole to contract extension

The Golden State Warriors have signed guard Jordan Poole to a multi-year contract extension.

Poole’s Warriors extension is reportedly for four years, $140 million.

“We’re thrilled to have Jordan in the fold for the next several years,” said Warriors Executive Vice President/General Manager Bob Myers. “He’s one of the bright, young players in our league and his work ethic and commitment to the game are impressive qualities that can’t be understated. He’ll be an important part of our future core and success, much like he was during last year’s run to the NBA championship.”

Per the San Francisco Chronicle, “for Poole’s deal, $123 million is guaranteed, according to reporting by The Athletic. Incentives could inflate that salary by an additional $17 million over the lifetime of the contract. The 23-year old will earn $3.9 million this upcoming season before his extension triggers in 2023-24. He’s estimated to make $28 million in 2023-24, which would make him the third highest-paid Warriors behind Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson.”

Poole, 23, owns career averages of 13.7 points, 2.9 assists, 2.6 rebounds and 24.7 minutes in 184 games (72 games) over three seasons with the Warriors. The 6’4” guard posted career high averages in points (18.5), rebounds (3.4), assists (4.0) and minutes played (30.0) during the 2021-22 season while leading the NBA in free throw percentage (.925 FT%). Additionally, he connected on a career-high 211 three-point field goals (15th in the NBA). Poole ranks third on the Warriors’ all-time career free throw percentage list (.885 FT%) and 10th on the three-point field goals made list (382).

Originally selected by the Warriors with the 28th overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, Poole scored 30 points in his first career playoff game versus Denver in Game 1 of the 2022 NBA Playoffs and followed it up with a 29-point performance in Game 2.

Jordan Poole up for a contract extension with Warriors

Will Jordan Poole soon sign a Golden State Warriors contract extension? Via the Bay Area News Group:

The dust is settling after Draymond Green’s scuffle with Jordan Poole and focus is shifting toward an important deadline for Poole before Opening Night next Tuesday.

The Warriors and Poole have until Oct. 17, this Monday, to come to terms on a contract extension. If the two sides don’t come to an agreement, Poole will become a restricted free agent after this season…

Extensions this offseason for Miami’s Tyler Herro and New York’s RJ Barrett — both of whom extended off their rookie deals — set the precedent for Poole’s price.

Herro, a fellow sixth man, signed a four-year, $130 million deal (a contract that’s actually worth $120 million, plus incentives). The Knicks signed Barrett to a four-year, $120 million deal. Expect Poole’s contract to be in that range, closer to Herro’s deal.

It’s anyone’s guess how the recent Dray punch to Poole might affect Poole’s feelings on sticking around. But chances are, long-term contract money from a team that just won the championship and isn’t quite over the hill just yet matters a lot more than a solitary negative incident.

Golden State Warriors win 2022 NBA championship

NYTimes.com: “It turns out the dynasty had just been paused. Golden State has won the N.B.A. championship again, four seasons after its last one. It is the franchise’s seventh title and the fourth for its three superstars: Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, who have spent the past decade growing up together, winning together and, over the past three years, learning how fragile success can be. On Thursday, they defeated the Boston Celtics, 103-90, in Game 6 of the N.B.A. finals. They won the series, 4-2, and celebrated their clinching victory on the parquet floor of TD Garden, below 17 championship banners, in front of a throng of disappointed partisans. With 24 seconds left in the game, Curry found his father near the baseline, hugged him and shook as he sobbed in his arms. Then Curry turned back toward the game. He put his hands on his head and squatted down, then fell onto the court. “I think I blacked out,” Curry said later.”

ESPN.com: “Draymond Green played his best game of the series, scoring 12 points on 5-of-10 shooting, grabbing 12 rebounds, recording eight assists with two steals and two blocks. He also hit two 3-pointers after missing his first 12 attempts of the series. He struggled on the other end, however. With Green as the primary defender, the Celtics shot 9-of-17 from the floor. Andrew Wiggins continued his strong series, finishing with 18 points, six rebounds, five assists, four steals and three blocks. Jordan Poole added 15 points off the bench, while Klay Thompson scored 12. Gary Payton II had just six points, but finished with a plus-18 net rating.”

San Francisco Chronicle: “All through these NBA Finals, Steph Curry has been more openly emotional than usual, getting into it with Boston fans and doing audaciously early celebrations. Those emotions completely took over on Thursday night as his Warriors put away the Celtics late in a 103-90 win that clinched their fourth NBA title since 2015 and their first since 2018. After coach Steve Kerr pulled the Golden State starters with the win — and the title — assured, Curry began crying on the baseline, embracing his father Dell, who had a victory cigar at the ready. When time expired, the tears really started to flow, with Curry weeping through his ABC interview with Lisa Salters.”

——-

On the new Warriors ‘death lineup’

Here’s the San Francisco Chronicle on the fun and games the Warriors are unleashing in the form of a new ‘death lineup’ edition:

The Golden State Warriors thrashed the visiting Denver Nuggets for the second straight game on Monday, and the debate erupted right on time. Are the Warriors on their way back? Is the Chase Center as rowdy as the Oracle? Will fans of Joel Embiid ever say something positive about Nikola Jokic? These are all direct questions, and perhaps someone has the time to respond. But there was another issue floating around, one that sparked a collective frenzy: What in the world are we meant to call Golden State’s new death lineup?

For the seven or eight of you not in the know, the (original) death lineup was not an influential 1980s anarcho-crust band but a name lovingly bestowed way back in the 2014-15 season on the genre-bending five-man unit of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Andre Iguodala, Harrison Barnes and Draymond Green. Skilled playmakers, elite shooting, aggressive long-limbed defenders — this was essentially the platonic ideal of winning small-ball. Steve Kerr (nice guy, good-looking guy!) wisely leaned into this dangerous lineup during the playoffs, and it propelled the Golden State Warriors to their first championship in 40 years. The following season, the same lineup hammered the league nightly and won the most regular season games in NBA history and nothing bad happened after that. And of course, the next year the rich got richer and switched out solid New Republic subscriber Harrison Barnes for human inferno Kevin Durant. The death lineup became the megadeath lineup. And then Durant left. Iguodala was traded. Klay and Steph were injured. Draymond’s attention wandered. The death lineup, for all intents and purposes, was dead.

Hopefully, the league has recovered from its collective death lineup fatigue after a two-year hiatus, because the death lineup is back, thanks in large part to Jordan Poole’s progress and a timely extended hot streak. This is Warriors Dynasty basketball at its finest. That all-too-familiar barrage. It is quite lovely to watch in real time. A deficit turned into a rout in an alchemical blur, life-affirming orderly chaos. It is never boring to watch the life drain from the opposition’s eyes as they do a more-than-acceptable job up until the dam bursts.

Jordan Poole shines for Warriors in first preseason game of year

It’s always fun to see who stands out in preseason games. Because, quite often, for minutes reasons, it often isn’t who you’d expect. On the Warriors, here’s the Bay Area News Group/San Jose Mercury News:

It’s one preseason game. An exhibition. It’s important not to overreact.

But after watching the Warriors play Monday night in Portland, it’s hard to not be excited about the team’s possibilities this season.

This team looks significantly better than last year’s operation. Lightyears ahead, perhaps…

Now, Jordan Poole looking like the third Splash Brother — he had 30 points in the preseason opener Monday — was obviously a critical aspect of the Warriors’ success in Portland. Poole thrived in the latter part of last season and was rightly slotted in as the Dubs’ two-guard next to Steph Curry again Monday. That’s his job until Klay Thompson returns (and perhaps for a while after that, even). Poole had a few defensive mistakes Monday, but he has also improved enough on that side of the ball since his mid-season G-League stint that he should also be part of the Dubs’ closing lineup — even with Thompson in the fold.