Dejounte Murray may get his desire for an exit from the New Orleans Pelicans sooner rather than later, but Jordan Poole will have to wait until free agency next year for his wish of a reunion with the Golden State Warriors.
Poole's comments following Monday's game against the Warriors put a return well and truly on the table, with Sam Amick of The Athletic now labelling it on Friday as "openly campaigning for a reunion."
Jordan Poole has to wait for a Warriors reunion
Poole might be on an expiring contract, and the Pelicans would surely be more than willing to move him, but his $34 million salary makes it nigh on impossible to see the Warriors trading for their 2022 championship guard despite having $20 million in salary sitting there with Kristaps Porzingis.
Golden State would also have to move Moses Moody and another small salary. They're simply not doing that for a player racking up DNPs on a lottery-bound team, and who's shooting less than 30% from the floor in the limited minutes he is getting.
Poole would also be the fifth-guard in the rotation. As much as the Warriors could do with more shot-creation right now with Stephen Curry and Brandon Williams facing injury issues, a healthy version of the team would see Poole stapled to the bench for long periods.
Not only would the Warriors have no interest in a trade, it's difficult to see any rival team pursuing Poole unless it's to get off a worse contract with multiple years left. Perhaps that changes if Poole can play well with the opportunity that may be afforded as a result of Murray's exit, but is the 27-year-old even motivated to achieve that? From what we saw and heard against Golden State earlier in the week, the answer would be no.
Free agency reunion between Poole and Warriors makes sense
For all the negatives just outlined and his evaporating impact over the last few years, reuniting with Poole in free agency is still something that makes sense next year should he be willing to take the minimum.
Poole spoke of the fact that players are so often beneficiaries or victims of their situation, and Golden State (along with some other teams) should believe that, given his age, there's still a very productive sixth man ready to be unleashed in the right environment.
The Warriors already have the benefit of knowing that Poole can flourish in their system, leaving a good opportunity for them to buy low on Poole with a cheap contract once free agency rolls around.
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