The Golden State Warriors decision to trade Jordan Poole for Chris Paul remains a bone of contention for many fans, yet two years on the move may have just received its biggest jolt of validation.
Poole has just been traded again for another veteran guard on an expiring contract, with the Washington Wizards sending the former Warrior back to the Western Conference and to the New Orleans Pelicans, along with Saddiq Bey and the No. 40 pick, for CJ McCollum, Kelly Olynyk and a future second round pick, according to ESPN's Shams Charania on Tuesday.
The Warriors made the right call to dump Jordan Poole
When the Wizards acquired Poole, Patrick Baldwin Jr., Ryan Rollins and a top 20 protected first-round pick for Paul on draft day in 2023, they would have been hoping that the 2022 NBA champion could go on to become a long-term starting guard and a key piece to their next playoff team.
Two years on and Washington have essentially dumped the final two years of Poole's contract themselves, with the 26-year-old still owed just under $66 million. On the other hand, McCollum is on an expiring $30.7 million deal and while he will bring a veteran presence that could help the Wizards, it clearly has to be a financial move given the 33-year-old far from fits their timeline.
Poole's first year in Washington was an unmitigated disaster, having even found himself benched on a young team that finished with a 15-67 record. His second season was far improved, showing signs of the explosive, dynamic guard that helped Golden State win a championship just three years ago. Poole averaged 20.5 points, 3.0 rebounds and 4.5 assists, shooting 37.8% from 3-point range on over nine attempts per game.
Despite this apparent hope, the Wizards have clearly seen enough to suggest that Poole isn't their long-term guard of the future, and that salary cap space next offseason will be far more important to their overall ambitions.
Now all Washington have left from that initial trade with Golden State is the top 20 protected first-round pick in 2030. If that doesn't convey -- which it likely won't given Stephen Curry will 42-years-old -- then it will become nothing more than a second-round pick.
The Wizards got 60 underwhelming games from Baldwin before trading him, and got only 10 from Rollins who's subsequently gone on to be a decent young piece for the Milwaukee Bucks. Poole was the key asset in the trade though, and now he's on his way to a weird Pelicans team who have the talent but who can seemingly never be trusted given Zion Williamson's injury history.
From a Warrior perspective, we can now say that Mike Dunleavy Jr. and the front office did a good job getting out in front of the Poole business and trading him before they really had to give up significant assets to move on.
It's resulted as an even smarter move given all the implications now of the first and second tax apron, with more and more deals being completed by teams around the league because of financially-driven motives.