Jordan Poole’s NBA life after the Golden State Warriors has hit a new low, with the young guard booed by his Washington Wizards home crowd during a disastrous performance against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday.
After being traded from the Warriors to the Wizards on draft day in June, many expected Poole to take off in Washington as he emerged from under the shadow of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson.
Yet that hasn’t been the case for the 24-year-old who’s struggled to handle the greater defensive attention assigned towards him. While his season has been disappointing, it only worsened when Poole endured boos from the home crowd during the fourth-quarter against the Cavaliers.
Poole went scoreless in his team’s 114-106 loss, finishing with just two rebounds, five assists and going 0-of-5 from the floor (0-of-4 from three-point range) in just under 25 minutes. The chorus of boos rang out after Poole missed a step-back three-point attempt over Sam Merrill in the final four minutes with Washington trailing by only four.
It’s the fourth time in his last eight games that Poole has scored less than seven points, with the 2022 NBA champion going for four points on 1-of-7 shooting in a blowout loss against the Phoenix Suns on Sunday.
Wednesday’s game is the latest indication that the Warriors made a smart move in dealing the former first-round pick. Having signed a contract extension with Golden State at the start of last season, Poole still has three years and nearly $100 million remaining on his deal.
The trade hasn’t entirely worked out for the Warriors either, with the franchise sitting 11th in the Western Conference at a 23-25 record. Chris Paul provided impact to start the season, yet has missed 12 games after suffering a fractured hand that required surgery.
Poole has averaged 15.9 points with Wizards on 40.4% shooting and 29.7% from three-point range. He averaged a career-high 20.4 points and 4.5 assists with the Warriors last season before a calamitous end during the 2022 playoffs.