NBA Exec: "Overpaid" Warriors Player Is Just "Empty Calories"

May 10, 2023 ,


He was supposed to be the next wave in Golden State. The young piece to lead the Warriors' next generation of winning. But with a disastrous showing in recent games, Jordan Poole's ability to impact winning is being seriously questioned around the NBA. 

According to Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report, rival NBA executives are ripping Poole, describing him in not very flattering terms:

He's empty calories. 

He doesn't defend, doesn't really create for others and the intel on Poole [and his presence in the locker room] isn't great. 

I don't know why the Warriors rushed to overpay him. They could have given him the same money this summer. At least then, they'd know what his contract would mean to their situation. He's earning more than [Andrew] Wiggins, and Wiggins is way more valuable than Poole.

The Warriors signed the 23-year-old Poole to a 4-year, $128M extension after winning the title last summer. His 2022-23 season, however, began embroiled in controversy after the Draymond Green punching incident during training camp. Even though he was on the receiving end, many questioned how Poole might have incited the incident. 

Then after averaging a career-high 20.4 points in the regular season, his scoring has dropped off by 50% in these playoffs, to just 10 points per game, and he's managed only 11 points total in the last three games (zero in Game 4), as the Dubs find themselves down 3-1 to the Los Angeles Lakers in their second-round series. 

Many of those same executives think the Warriors need to try to offload Poole's massive salary this offseason. But many of them think Golden State "would have to incentivize another team with draft compensation or a player like Moses Moody or Jonathan Kuminga to take on Poole."

Should be an interesting summer in San Francisco, if the Warriors can't make a miraculous comeback against the Lakers. 

Photo: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports



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