After a disastrous first year following his trade from the Golden State Warriors, Jordan Poole is having a solid bounce back second season with the Washington Wizards.
The 6'4" guard is currently averaging 20.3 points, 2.4 rebounds and a career-high 5.1 assists per game, with his 3-point shooting also at a career-best 39.2% after two seasons below 34% from beyond the arc.
However, Poole's numbers are still taken with a grain of salt given it's coming on a young, rebuilding Wizards squad that's cemented themselves as the worst team in the league. Washington are currently 3-21 on the season, four wins below any other team in the Eastern Conference.
Former Warriors guard Jordan Poole has been roasted after one recent offensive sequence
Poole's no stranger to going viral for different moments across the course of his career, and he created another in recent days after a specific offensive possession against the Boston Celtics at Capital One Arena on Sunday.
During the third-quarter Poole crossed over Payton Pritchard, forcing the Celtics guard to stumble off his feet and seemingly giving the former Warrior an open 3-point look. Yet instead of taking that opportunity, Poole stopped and pointed at Pritchard which gave Sam Hauser time to come across and force a pass.
Jordan Poole just broke Payton Pritchard’s ankles and had a wide open three but had to pass it cause he pointed at Pritchard and allowed Hauser to contest
— Greg Finberg (@GregFinberg) December 16, 2024
😂 pic.twitter.com/4lovDwfOTz
The sequence occurred as the Wizards trailed by 16, with the play drawing the attention of many including ESPN's Stephen A. Smith who roasted Poole for showboating on a recent episode of First Take.
"Gone from a champion to a team that since he has arrived is 18-88. 70 games under .500 but you showboat. That's why his a** is in the nation's capital," Smith said.
Smith has a point when it comes to this type of play encapsulating why the Warriors moved on from Poole when they traded him in June last year. The financial element was undoubtedly the biggest motive behind the decision, but his often rash play had become frustrating during his fourth year with Golden State.
Poole's confidence is what helped him go from late first-round pick to crucial part of a championship team and $120+ million contract, but it evidently started to rub some within the organization up the wrong way.
On the court Poole's shot-making is something Golden State certainly valued and could actually do with right now, yet it also led to too many reckless possessions that inevitably ended with an ill-advised shot or a sloppy turnover.
Poole will return to Chase Center again when the Warriors host the Wizards on January 18.