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The Golden State Warriors need to trust Jordan Poole with the second unit

By Nathan Beighle

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - MAY 19: Juan Toscano-Anderson #95, Jordan Poole #3, and Draymond Green #23 of the Golden State Warriors high-five during the first half of an NBA Tournament Play-In game against the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center on May 19, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - MAY 19: Juan Toscano-Anderson #95, Jordan Poole #3, and Draymond Green #23 of the Golden State Warriors high-five during the first half of an NBA Tournament Play-In game against the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center on May 19, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images) /
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The market for a quality sixth man is going to be there for the Golden State Warriors, and they’ll need to decide before the season if they’re going to ride or die with guard Jordan Poole as their sixth man.

Poole is going to be entering his third season, and unlike players such as Mychal Mulder or Damion Lee, Poole’s numbers actually increased with the return of Stephen Curry and Draymond Green. He stepped up in a big way down the stretch.

With players like Gordan Dragic hitting the market, the Golden State Warriors are going to need to put their trust in former first-round pick Jordan Poole.

Over the last few seasons, Poole has erupted after he was sent to the G-League affiliate Santa Cruz Warriors for a few weeks. That’s something that cannot happen if Poole is going to be the leader of the second unit.

He needs to start out confident and aggressive. He doesn’t have to consistently shoot the lights out, but his playmaking and shiftiness need to be there. Quite a bit of Poole’s success also comes in his quick decision-making.

The desire for Poole to have a consistent and locked-in role will come in the offseason though. Do the Warriors trust he can continue to produce like he was down the stretch of last season?

After returning from the G-League bubble, Poole put up 14.7 points per game over the team’s last 36. It was also his 43.3 percent from the field which is fairly impressive for him. He also averaged 2.3 triples per game.

He still only played in under two quarters per game, so the potential for bigger numbers is there. Nonetheless, Poole looked great, especially becoming a go-to option beside Stephen Curry in the two play-in games.

Klay Thompson‘s return should impact Poole’s minutes late in the game, but he was clearly the most talented player on the second unit. Despite having big-time players hit the market, I’d assume Golden State will put their faith in Poole.

He was good enough late in the season, but he’ll need to continue that as the young guard has been extremely inefficient at times in his short career.

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Add in the fact that Golden State has little money to go out and add a Goran Dragic-like sixth man, and it seems likely they lean to just giving the reigns to Poole while also keeping Lee around in case he can’t keep that high-level play up.

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