Kevin Garnett has become the latest person to put Jordan Poole on blast. Speaking on his show on Showtime, Garnett spent several minutes roasting Poole, eventually saying "he does not belong in the league". Garnett questioned Poole's professionalism, as well as his myriad antics that have already occurred during the early weeks of the NBA season.
Poole is seemingly embracing his villain role within the hapless Wizards roster. The season is less than 20 games old and already Poole has several viral moments under this belt. There was a flashy off-the-backboard alley-oop despite the Wizards being down 20. In one game, Poole blatantly ignored his coach drawing up a play during a timeout and then seemed upset that he had no idea what was going on. Finally, and most recently, Poole "walked the ball" up the court, burning valuable seconds during a comeback bid against the Bucks. Why is this notable? Because Poole didn't appear to realize that walking the ball only freezes the shot clock, not the game clock.
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Andre Iguodala Defends Poole
However, one person who seemingly has Poole's back is Andre Iguodala. In a September podcast appearance with JJ Redick, Iguodala reflected on the less-than-ideal role that Poole had to play for the Warriors. In short, Iguodala summarized that the Warriors were built around Steph, Klay, and Draymond. Poole, who would often play off the bench, was expected to play without the freedom or the eccentricities afforded to the team's Big Three. If Draymond was having a wild night with errant passes and the like, Poole had to be perfect. If Steph was cold from three, Poole had to be hot. In Iguodala's eyes, Poole had to play clean-up to whatever the Big Three wasn't doing on any particular night.
Drafted in 2019 by the Warriors, Poole had four solid seasons with the team. In his final season before being traded to the Wizards, Poole had over 20 points per game. On any other team, Poole would likely have been an instant starter and first-rotation lock. However, it's always going to be hard to get that consistent playing time with a roster like Golden State's. Even in his 20.7 ppg season, Poole only started 43 games.
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