Jordan Poole can be a sneaky candidate for Most Improved Player of the year next season

Ever since being drafted with the 28th pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, Jordan Poole has been one of the most polarizing players in the Warriors organization.

Prior to the draft, Poole was most known for his buzzer-beater to beat Wisconsin in the Round of 32 in the 2018 March Madness tournament. Poole and his Michigan team wound up making it all the way to the National Championship, where they lost to Villanova. Poole would declare for the draft following that game.

However, a deeper look at Poole’s college profile paints a picture as to why so many Warriors fans were skeptical about using a high pick to get him. He only played two years at Michigan, one coming strictly off the bench, and the other coming as a full-time starter who averaged 12.8 points/game while shooting 37% from three.

Now that’s a solid profile, but many were surprised that his lack of experience didn’t scare the Warriors off from picking him so early. Most thought he would have lasted later on in the draft, but the Warriors didn’t want to take any chances.

What have we seen so far from Poole? Well, his first season did not go according to plan. We don’t even need to dive into stats; his shot selection was terrible, he didn’t facilitate whatsoever, and he had one of the worst rookie shooting seasons we have seen in some time. By the end of the season, Warriors fans were calling for his head.

But, the Warriors kept him around, believing in his shot-making ability as someone who could lead a second unit. He started the year pretty poorly again, but part of that had to do with there not being much room for him in the rotation. So, the Warriors sent him to the G-League, hoping that he could gain some confidence there.

We all know what happened from here. He dominated the G-League, averaging 22.4 points/game in just 11 games. After those 11 games, the Warriors decided to bring him back to the team, and much of his successes carried over to the NBA level.

Poole ended the season averaging 12 points/game and shooting 35.1% from 3 while playing only 19.4 minutes/game. That’s 22.3 points per 36 minutes. He really could be that primary scorer off the bench that the Warriors have been lacking. If he gets the opportunity to see the floor about 5-6 more minutes per game and gets his scoring average up from 12 points/game to around an efficient 17 points/game while upping his 3-point percentage a bit he could very well be a strong candidate for the league's Most Improved Player award for 2022. It might even be a decent low risk, high reward, wager to place next time you’re at the sportsbook as Bovada has Poole listed as +6600 odds to win the award.

Jordan Poole +6600 odds to win Most Improved Player next year.

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— TheWarriorsTalk (@TheWarriorsTalk) August 13, 2021

Speaking on JP’s minutes, we all know he can score, but how many minutes can the Warriors give him this year? We know that Steph Curry, Draymond Green, Andrew Wiggins, and Klay Thompson are going to be locks for starter minutes, but rest will be something to watch this year. Also, as of this moment, by all accounts, it sounds like Klay will be returning to action sometime in December or January, following back-to-back season-ending injuries to his ACL and Achilles ligaments. With that said, opportunities should be ripe for some solid Poole minutes, especially in the first half or so of the season as Klay works back into game shape. I have my eyes set on the 25-26 minutes per game range.

Outside of those four, the Warriors will need to juggle minutes between new signings Nemanja Bjelica and Otto Porter, rookies Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody, returning players like Juan Toscano-Anderson, Damion Lee, and Kevon Looney. And of course, we can’t forget James Wiseman and Andre Iguodala.

That’s a lot of traffic in the rotation. However, most of the players listed are forwards and centers. This leaves plenty of room for Poole to operate the backcourt when the starters are sitting. Also, as the best scorer out of the non-starters, the Warriors will definitely want to get him heavy minutes when Steph and/or Klay are not on the court.

If Poole can be the 6th or 7th man in this rotation, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him get 25+ minutes a night. If he does, we could see some big scoring numbers from someone who the Warriors hope will be their new bench ace.