2019 Re-Draft: Jordan Poole’s standing and who would the Golden State Warriors take?

Despite being the center of a lot of discussion around his immediate future at present, there’s little doubt that Jordan Poole has delivered enormous value to the Golden State Warriors after being taken with the 28th overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft.

Poole has developed from regular stints in the G-League, to being a productive offensive player, to key part of a championship team in a short period time. Even throughout some of his well-documented struggles this season, the 23-year-old still posted a career-high 20.4 points per game.

Now four years on from the 2019 NBA Draft, where does Jordan Poole sit and who would the Golden State Warriors have otherwise selected with the 28th pick?

In recent days, King James Gospel’s Josh Cornelissen has released a complete re-draft for the first-round of the 2019 class. Poole comes in at seven on his board, a hefty rise 21 selections above where the Warriors originally selected him.

After Golden State won the championship 12 months ago, Poole may have even ranked higher above the likes of Tyler Herro (fifth) and Cameron Johnson (sixth). Yet as Cornelissen points out, his recent form in the postseason makes even his standing at seventh a controversial selection.

"“Any basketball fans who watched the Golden State Warriors in the playoffs this season will think this placement for Jordan Poole is insane, and they might be right. He bounced everywhere from No. 6 to No. 16 in earlier versions of this redraft before ultimately landing seventh.”"

Coby White was originally drafted seventh by the Chicago Bulls, and there’s no doubt they would prefer the shot-creation and playmaking of Poole particularly during the long-term, ongoing absence of starting point-guard Lonzo Ball.

In Cornelissen’s re-draft, the Warriors take unique big man Bol Bol with the 28th overall pick. At 7’2″, Bol is one of the most interesting players in the league with his ability to dribble and shoot at his size. Yet despite a promising, career-best year with the Orlando Magic in 2022-23, he’s yet to prove himself as a meaningful piece to a winning team.

Given Golden State’s rise back into championship contention, Bol’s profile as a long-term prospect probably would have seen him depart the franchise within a couple of seasons. Although it may not seem like it after his postseason disaster, Poole remains one of the Warriors’ biggest wins as a franchise over the last five years.

Can he rise further up the board in the next few years? The 2019 draft is immensely talented but not without its flaws, with Darius Garland, Zion Williamson, Ja Morant and R.J. Barrett joining Herro and Johnson above Poole at this particular stage.