Trading a young explosive guard who was a key piece to a championship team was a heart-breaking call for the Golden State Warriors in 2023, but trading Jordan Poole was ultimately needed and gave him the opportunity to spread his wings with a bonafide starting role on the Washington Wizards.
Unfortunately that role may have been short-lived for Poole, with the 26-year-old now finding himself on the move again after being traded by the Wizards to the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday.
The NBA draft confirmed Jordan Poole's worst nightmare
The addition of Poole to a Pelicans team with the likes of Zion Williamson, Trey Murphy III and Dejounte Murray was already interesting enough, but became even more so on Wednesday night when the franchise selected young guard Jeremiah Fears with the seventh overall pick in the first-round of the NBA Draft.
New Orleans will hope Fears can become a star or at the very least a high-level starter in the future, suggesting Poole's role with the Pelicans could take a backseat as they develop the 18-year-old out of Oklahoma.
Poole will now assuredly be presented with a far lesser offensive role than what he had with the Wizards, and may even be forced back into a bench role if the 28-year-old Murray can successfully return from his devastating torn achilles injury.
Fears, Poole & Dejounte on the same team?
— Domo (@Domo8186) June 26, 2025
Pelicans gonna Pelican
This is a nightmare scenario for Poole who certainly had visions of becoming a legitimate star when he left the Warriors, having averaged 18.5 and 20.4 points in his last two years in the Bay.
Poole is no stranger to coming off the bench, having done so for 151 of his 266 career regular season games with Golden State. However, there is a significant difference between coming off the bench behind two hall of famers on a championship-contending team, and playing a lesser role on a team that just finished 14th in the Western Conference.
Rather than become the star guard that many anticipated following his third year with the Warriors, it seems as if Poole could be pigeon-holed back into a sixth-man role who can be a microwave scorer off the bench.
If that does prove the case in New Orleans, it will be interesting to see how Poole handles it and whether he can accept a role that sees him become a long-term fit with the franchise.
The fact the Wizards essentially salary-dumped Poole to ensure they have enormous cap room next offseason was further vindication of the Warriors' decision two years ago, with the potential of the trade looking even better if he falls back into a less than desirable bench role with the Pelicans.