A belief reportedly exists that the Washington Wizards acquired guard Jordan Poole to rebuild his value for a trade down the line.
“Did the Washington Wizards trade for Jordan Poole to try to rebuild his trade value to move him on in a future trade … or to make him a cornerstone player of their post-Bradley Beal future?” NBA insider Marc Stein began.
“My sense, from speaking to various league observers, is that more believe it is the former rather than the latter with Poole in Year 1 of a four-year, $123 million contract.”
Poole spent the first four seasons of his NBA career with the Golden State Warriors — and won a title with the team in 2022 — and is currently in his first season with the Wizards franchise. Washington acquired him in the 2023 offseason.
Thus far, Poole is performing a bit worse with the Wizards than he did with the Warriors a season ago. Through 10 games played with Washington this season, he’s averaging 16.2 points, 2.4 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game while shooting 41.2 percent from the field and 30.3 percent from behind the 3-point arc.
For comparison, Poole averaged 20.4 points, 2.7 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game in 82 appearances and 43 starts with the Warriors during the 2022-23 regular season.
Poole also hasn’t experienced the same level of team success that he enjoyed when he was a member of the Warriors. The Wizards have been one of the worst teams in the Eastern Conference to this point, as evidenced by their 2-8 record on the season.
The Detroit Pistons — who own a 2-9 record and have lost eight games in a row — are the only team in the conference right now with a worse record than Washington.
The Wizards are riding a three-game losing streak and are fresh off a loss to the Toronto Raptors on Monday.
Poole finished that game with 14 points and six assists on 6-of-16 shooting from the floor in 35 minutes of playing time. He also totaled three steals, one block and four turnovers in the four-point loss.
With any luck, Poole will soon be able to score the ball more efficiently for the Wizards. Washington will play host to the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday before facing the New York Knicks at home on Friday in an In-Season Tournament game.
