The Ringer calls Poole "The Key to the Warriors Season"
https://www.theringer.com/nba/2021/10/20/22736235/opening-night-nets-bucks-lakers-warriors
Poole scored 20 in Game 1 against the Lakers. The Ringer points out it was Poole running the show early in the fourth quarter when the Warriors started to pull away.
Really rooting for him to continue his ascension.
October 20th, 2021 at 12:01 PM ^
Poole > Westbrook last night. And in life.
October 20th, 2021 at 12:03 PM ^
That guy has swag
October 20th, 2021 at 12:35 PM ^
We can still pretend he made a mistake leaving early though right?
October 20th, 2021 at 12:58 PM ^
I think people can agree that it worked out for him. For me, I had thoughts of Sean Higgins, so I'm glad this situation turned out better.
October 20th, 2021 at 1:28 PM ^
Yeah, Higgins was a cautionary tale. Certainly more of a forward than Poole but also probably a more talented player overall. Really strange timing too for him to go pro that year because he would have been the key play maker on that 90-91 team had he returned for the year instead of Calip. But that team his senior year had very little talent.
October 20th, 2021 at 1:43 PM ^
Higgins could've hoisted thirty shots a game in '90-'91, yes, but look what happened:
https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/h/higgise01.html
He spent parts of the next eight years in the NBA. He had more than enough time to reach his potential. (I'd say an eight-year NBA career, even as a reserve, is pretty good.)
October 20th, 2021 at 1:22 PM ^
Just because a decision turns out ok doesn't necessarily mean it was a good decision. As a college player he was talented but also a lackadaisical defensive player and someone who put up a very pedestrian eFG% with his questionable shot selection. And the fact that his strength is ostensibly his shooting and yet he has a 38% FG% with a 31% 3P% for his first two years confirms that he really wasn't NBA ready. Of course, the NBA draft is all about potential and I don't know that that makes it a mistake but most other front offices did not consider him a first round pick, which is the basic standard for a decision to go pro or not. Hopefully he is grateful to the Warriors because they drafted him and kept him around even though there are a lot of guys who have their careers tossed aside when they struggle as much as he has his first two years. He was also fortunate that injuries, plus Jacob Evans being a bust, opened up playing time. Looks promising that he turns the corner this year, he's clearly more comfortable and more aggressive with better decision making evident last night and he did play quite well. Hope he succeeds this year and continues to grow as a player and person.
October 20th, 2021 at 2:04 PM ^
You say yourself: "the NBA draft is all about potential." And you say that "most" front offices did not consider him a first round pick.
But he didn't need most NBA teams to pick him, just one.
And what they found was what they wanted.
Also, you're kind of obscuring his stats. You're taking his combined stats from his first two years, but last year his FG & 3 percentages are notably better than the numbers you are reporting, which shows his growth. A number of analysts have been gushing about how well he developed last year, how good (at times) his decisionmaking was as he drove the lane, all of it. It is not factual to suggest that last year was a bad year for him; I would suggest that perhaps you weren't paying close attention to his development down the stretch last year, which is no mark against you except that you are using his supposed poor performance last year as a plank of your argument.
Nobody, including Poole, thought he was going to be a star right away. But Golden State liked his development as a ballhandler a lot last year, and it was visible to the league at large, and it is paying larger dividends now.
October 20th, 2021 at 7:56 PM ^
Rookie: .333/.279/.778, .454 TS%
2nd year: .432/.351/.882, .581 TS%
Over the last nine regular season games last year (GSW won 8 on the way to a Play-in spot), Poole was averaging 17.7ppg, shooting .490/.358/.872 and dropped 38 on the Pelicans in a super important 3 point win.
It's clear that the poster you are responding to likely wasnt watching closely Poole's development over the back half of the season last year and is only going off of his admittedly rough rookie season. And I guess just to be "right" about a college aged kids decision to go pro or not, something that doesnt actually affect any of us.
October 20th, 2021 at 3:24 PM ^
I don't buy the assumption that a player is automatically more likely to develop coming back to college and spending less time on their craft.
The only way it would have been a mistake for Jordan to leave is if he had zero shot at getting a second contract. In that case he should have stuck around to improve his draft status and maximize the money in his first contract.
October 20th, 2021 at 6:35 PM ^
"Just because a decision turns out ok doesn't necessarily mean it was a good decision."
Amen. This seemingly obvious point is not always appreciated by people.
In Poole's case, I do think it was a good decision to go pro if he had an indication that he'd go in the first round, because as you noted, that is a pretty strong indicator of career trajectories for a lot of people.
October 20th, 2021 at 7:46 PM ^
This ain't it, chief.
October 20th, 2021 at 2:24 PM ^
I’ve made this argument before, but I think UM fans are justified for thinking this when it was playing out. Coming out of his sophomore season, we didn’t really see the improvement we expected from him in playmaking/on ball scoring efficiency, or on defense. It reminded me a lot of THJ’s sophomore season (this was the year before the final 4, he was a high volume low efficiency 3pt shooter), who came back to school, got playing time on an elite team that he wouldn’t have gotten in the NBA, and became a sure fire first rounder. Poole was fortunate that the Warriors valued him, there is no other team in the league that would have been as receptive to his play style and they were facing an injury to Klay Thompson that justified trying to develop someone to replicate his role. JP really struggled his first year in the league and it wasn’t until he did well in the G league in a premier role that he got his confidence back and started to work his ass off, which makes me think that there’s a version of college JP we didn’t get to see because he didn’t stay long enough. /endrant
October 20th, 2021 at 3:08 PM ^
No one drafted in the first round "made a mistake".
October 20th, 2021 at 12:54 PM ^
Took a little bit of time for him to mature into a pro, but its great to see Poole turning into a good NBA player - hopefully he is able to sustain and even get better.
Its never a mistake to leave when you get drafted in the first round...Iggy was more the surprise in leaving after one year imo...
October 20th, 2021 at 1:03 PM ^
It will be interesting to see Poole's development in GS. He had some strong moments against the Lakers bench (Malik Monk in particular), but was largely bottled up against the starters other than a transition + scramble three.
It's still early in his career, but Jordan has some similarities to a less athletic JR Smith in terms of perimeter shotmaking + secondary shot creation (for himself) + a few bonehead plays per game.
The real question for me is whether he develops enough to be a legitimate starter against good competition or if he's best used as an offensive spark plug off the bench.
October 20th, 2021 at 1:09 PM ^
I flipped the game on last night and Poole was a total mess. He was sloppy with bad shot selection. Within 10 minutes he was like controlling the game, getting to the hoop, making transition threes. In the end he had a great game.
Will be interesting to see how his career progresses. The JR comparison seems accurate, but I only really got into the NBA 5 years ago (always a casual fan). I don’t really remember a good version of Jr.
October 20th, 2021 at 1:18 PM ^
Casual NBA fans (particularly those from the Midwest) probably only remember Smith as a Cav. But prior to Cleveland he was very good offensive player for a Denver Nugget team that was probably championship-caliber but for Kobe Bryant.
For context, Smith averaged nearly 14ppg, 3reb and 2asst per game on 39% from distance during his five years with the Nuggets. I'd be mildly surprised if Poole is ever that good on a quality team, but it wouldn't be shocking.
The two have very similar playstyles, but Smith was a far superior athlete.
October 20th, 2021 at 3:02 PM ^
I disagree with your take (re: projection) on Poole. I think Poole will be much better (re: productive) than JR Smith was. (And yes, I remember JR Smith and the 2009 Melo-led Nuggets team that could've been up 2-0 on the Kobe-led Lakers in the 2009 Western Conference Finals but instead lost 4-2).
I watched Poole in HS (long before he was ever a top 100 ranked player in his class) and he stood out to me as a damn good player with an unusual & intriguing blend of skills. Some players just have *that look* of a future pro - that extra something that makes you think "Yeah, that kid is gonna be a pro down the line."
The more I watched him, the more I thought of him as Steph Curry-lite. (You have to remember this is when Curry was taking over the NBA in 2015 and 16 while Poole was an underclassman in HS.)
I was actually EXTREMELY surprised that Beilein decided to recruit Poole. As damn good as Poole seemed to me, he relied on improvising and I felt that he might be a little too off-the-cuff and jazzy for Beilein who values structure and precision. But I was very (and I mean VERY) happy that Beilein went after Poole.
Now...
Do I think Jordan Poole left 1 year too early in terms of readiness for NBA?
Yes. I think a junior Poole would've been a borderline All-American under Coach Juwan Howard and a lottery pick. But because he left 1 year early, my Warriors were able to draft a future top 10ish player for a late 1st round pick. (So I wasn't upset.)
And Poole had a LEGENDARY workout with the Warriors where he looked EVERY BIT the part of someone who could be Curry's protege. Hence, Warriors picked Poole over Keldon Johnson. (Btw, Spurs were supposedly interested in Poole too.)
-----
I participate in Warriors Reddit and Discord. (I'm a mod there.) From the moment he was drafted I said he would need 1-2 years to adjust (which happened when Poole was thrown into the fire after the injuries piled up in 2019-20). He improved A LOT in the G League where the game slowed down for him and he began refining his game.
Poole also plays in the right system - Steve Kerr's heavy motion offense with lots of cutting, passing, and spacing - that plays to his strengths. There's a very real chance that Poole averages something like 21/4/3 this season as a quasi 6th man who gets starter minutes.
I remember the reactionary Warriors fans who wanted to trade Poole away after his rough rookie season. But I've followed basketball long enough to know it takes most pros 3 years to show you who they will be. So I preached patience and I got this one right. And Poole picked a damn good time for a breakout season - in a contract year.
Poole figures to be a big part of our future. Golden State Warriors have the right mix of stars, vets, up-and-comers, youngsters, and role players.
Also, GSW has quietly embraced Daryl Morey's 3 point strategy which he implemented with James Harden leading the Rockets. Don't be surprised if you look at box scores and see Warriors taking 50-60 3s per game. Our FO - which didn't make enough moves last year - did a good job this off-season of filling the bench with quality players who can shoot. With Curry's gravity and Poole's emergence, Warriors will get a lot of open 3s (and that's even before Klay returns).
October 20th, 2021 at 4:38 PM ^
Smith was a far more *explosive* athlete, but I think Poole looks more fluid in his movements. Physically, Poole is almost a cross between JR and Steph. Along those lines, Poole has a smoother handle and is better at creating for himself and others. If you compare them at the same stage in their careers, Poole shoots a lot better from 2, has higher usage, has a much better assist rate and a lower turnover rate. I really think that Poole is shaping up to be a better and better-rounded player.
October 20th, 2021 at 5:04 PM ^
I can't talk anyone down from a projection and I'm not inclined to try. That is subjective and I'm smart enough to realize it.
That said, what we can do is compare skill/athleticism facets as they currently stand. In no way is Poole better athletically than Smith at the same stage. Smith was a FAR more explosive leaper, had a better first step and changed direction with a live dribble better than Poole. In every way imaginable Smith was a better athlete at the same stage IMO. It's not particularly close either.
I mean, this is JR Smith at 19 years old......a far superior athlete to Poole at 22
For context at the same age (22), JR Smith put up 12.3ppg, shooting 46% FG and 40.3% from distance on nearly 26% usage and 15% asst rate on a team that was nearly championship caliber.
I'm all for Jordan Poole love, but if he reaches that level of production/efficiency combo for a championship caliber team while being a 3rd/4th option I'd be pleasantly surprised and extremely happy for him.
October 20th, 2021 at 5:37 PM ^
The more instructive comparison is by year in the league. Poole's second year was his age-21 season, JR's second year was age-20, so they were close in terms of just biological development. Poole was clearly the better player at that stage, and I wouldn't be surprised at all if he bests JR's breakout third season this year.
And you're conflating twitchiness with athleticism. JR was obviously the much more explosive athlete, but Poole really is more fluid with his movements. He creates more for himself and others off the bounce, and he's actually a much more effective finisher -- his 0.743 field goal percentage at the rim last year is much better than anything Smith put up at any point in his career, and he's getting to the rim at a comparable rate as Smith was at the same stage.
October 20th, 2021 at 6:23 PM ^
I'm not conflating anything. Twitchiness IS athleticism for functional purposes. I don't really like to say it to fans/non-professional evaluators but I hate the use of the term "Fluid". It's simply a word people like to float around when player X lacks high-level acceleration, the ability to get good elevation in traffic without a running start (explosive leaping), body control in the air, the ability to absorb contact (balance), sudden deceleration (brakes) and the ability to change direction with a live dribble (shiftiness) IMO.
The more simplistic version of what I said in detail above - "fluid" generally translates to "X player isn't a good athlete, but I like the way his movements look when playing basketball". If physical movements on the basketball court don't manifest in terms of high-level speed/power/elevation/acceleration than said player lacks athleticism.
So for me, Poole's physical movements are not high-level (for NBA purposes of course) for any of those aforementioned physical facets and he's not an athlete in the mold of JR Smith. I'll leave it up to you as to whether Poole is "Fluid".
October 20th, 2021 at 1:05 PM ^
Well this is obvious since you really can’t have splash brothers without a pool(e).
October 20th, 2021 at 1:19 PM ^
The Washington Post had an article of the top 100 players in the NBA. There were four wolverines. Poole, Caris, Duncan and THJ made this list.
October 20th, 2021 at 1:30 PM ^
That's great to see.
October 20th, 2021 at 2:22 PM ^
I saw this last night. Poole was ranked #100. I was completely surprised. What an impressive journey for that young man.
October 20th, 2021 at 1:38 PM ^
Glad he's found a role in GSW, and hopefully he can continue to grow. Curry is still the star there but they need Poole to help take the burden off him and be a consistent #2/#3 scoring option depending on how Thompson looks upon his return.
October 20th, 2021 at 1:38 PM ^
Can confirm. Who knows what the Dubs will get with Klay, and even if he is back full tilt, Poole augments a historically ferocious shooting attack. He has improved game-by-game, and year-by-year.
October 20th, 2021 at 3:47 PM ^
There is no question to me that two years of development with Golden State is much better for Poole's long-term NBA success than 1-2 years with Michigan would have been, especially because playing with X was frustrating to him because he was almost never a primary ball-handler and distributor.
He was also clearly never going to develop on defense at Michigan. We can debate who's at fault in all of the above (Jordan definitely comes in for some blame there), but the fact is that going to top-level NBA franchise was the perfect way for him to elevate the flaws in his game.
October 20th, 2021 at 9:03 PM ^
You hit several very large nails very squarely here.
October 20th, 2021 at 9:05 PM ^
double :(
October 20th, 2021 at 3:47 PM ^
There is no question to me that two years of development with Golden State is much better for Poole's long-term NBA success than 1-2 years with Michigan would have been, especially because playing with X was frustrating to him because he was almost never a primary ball-handler and distributor.
He was also clearly never going to develop on defense at Michigan. We can debate who's at fault in all of the above (Jordan definitely comes in for some blame there), but the fact is that going to top-level NBA franchise was the perfect way for him to elevate the flaws in his game.
October 20th, 2021 at 5:19 PM ^
This may end up being a classic Preseason Overreaction, but my prediction is that Poole be worthy of (but not receive) All-Star recognition. Then Klay comes back and all bets are off.
Looking forward to watching the Dubs this year though. I think they'll have a good chunk --if not an actual overdose -- of that mid-teens swag back this year.
October 21st, 2021 at 1:12 AM ^
Given the health issues that Steph and Klay have gone through and the results of those issues, I can assure you that that headline, like a good deal of the Ringer, is total bullshit.