Warriors Rumored to Offer Jordan Poole Extension This Summer
The Golden State Warriors are in the business of building dynasties. If they have a guy they don’t think is going to be conducive to that, there’s no reason to keep him around: The title window for Steph Curry, Draymond Green, and Klay Thompson is closing, but the Warriors young guns have stepped up in their first few years and have shown they’ll be able to take the reigns when Father Time eventually gets his.
One of those young guns is Jordan Poole, who the Warriors are reportedly looking into extending before he hits restricted free agency this offseason. The extension could value up to $80 million total over 4 years, locking Poole up effectively for the next few seasons:
JP3 is averaging 16.4 points, 3.5 assists, and 2.7 rebounds per game, all of which are career marks. He’s shooting at a 43/33/92 clip, with an efficient 53% effective field goal. He’s been a spark off the Warriors bench and played a key role in winning the Dubs a lot of games early when Klay Thompson was still sidelined with injury.
Poole’s game is akin to other explosive-scoring 2-guards, with his ceiling often being thought of as Bradley Beal. However, he’s recently taken on more of a combo guard role, averaging 4.1 assists per game over his last 10 while having a few matchups where he’s gotten 8 or more assists. He’s turning into more of a true point guard as the season goes on, which is great for his development track given he’s only in his 3rd season in the NBA.
Well-loved in Golden State, Poole has been heralded as the next great Warriors guard. Although he probably won’t reach Curry’s level (as few possibly could), he projects as a lead scorer. He has a lightning-fast first step, shoots lights-out from deep when he starts to get hot, and has a lot of physical tools which allow for him to beat most defenders. While his east/west shift needs some improvement, as does his tendency to pick up his dribble too early or overdribble to try and beat a defender, these skills will come with time as he gets more opportunity to attack.
The Warriors have plenty of great defenders on the wing (Thompson, Andrew Wiggins, Andre Iguodala, Otto Porter Jr.) and project to have a couple more as they develop (Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody), recent improvements from Curry seem to have also inspired Poole, who has played very solid on-ball defense and even ranks in the top-25 in defensive rating across the entire league. He has the physical tools, and playing with an incredibly high-IQ defender like Draymond Green has helped him fill some holes on that side of the ball. While he has lapses as most young guys do, he’s improved a lot from being one of the NBA’s worst defenders the last two seasons.
The Dubs locking up their Splash Nephew is a good move, as he’s shown he can make the jump while still having a ton of room to improve at such a young age. Offering him this contract and, assuming he signs it, keeping him around the vets for at least the next 4 years will do wonders for his career, as Golden State’s notorious culture is infectious to everyone who plays there. Jordan is likely to see some offers if he wants to test restricted free agency, but given his success in this system, there’s a high chance he will take the extension and continue on as a Warrior.
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