Since Jordan Poole signed a four-year $128 million contract extension last summer, his inconsistencies have been worse than ever, which has led to the suggestion of trading him.
NBA personality and former Warriors guard, Gilbert Arenas, has a pretty strong stance on Poole, which he made clear during a live stream of Gil’s Arena in Game 3.
“Watching Poole right now, I might trade him. … If I can package him and get someone I can rely on, I’m going to try it,” Arenas said. “He’s not Steph. He’s not a replacement. He’s showing me this s—t, that’s what he’s showing me. He’s supposed to be the best player on the court, right, and he kind of looks like the worst player. He’s the highest paid on this court, and he looks like the worst player.”
In that Game 3, Poole finished the night with just five points in 22 minutes from the bench and made just 2-9 shots from the field.
The entire playoffs have been a disappointment for the 23-year-old as he’s averaged 11.6 points, 3.6 assists, and 2.4 rebounds on 35.5 percent shooting from the field and 28.8 percent from beyond the arc in his last ten postseason games.
His shooting has taken a dip since the regular season, where it was 43 percent from the field and 33.6 percent from three.
Poole averaged 20.0 points, 5.1 assists and 3.4 rebounds on 52.6 percent shooting from the field and 43.1 percent from three in his first ten playoff games last season.
Despite his slump in form, it seems Poole has the support of the senior leadership group at the Warriors, most notably Steph Curry.
Curry says that the team are standing by their teammate, no matter his stats in these crucial games.
“We are all extremely confident in what he provides for us, what he can do out there and keeping it positive, just how you approach the game,” Curry said after practice on Sunday. “And that’s what I love about him. He has great energy and making or missing the shots, it’s going to happen.”
The shooting guard will get a chance to prove himself to Steph and get some confidence back in Game 4 of the Warriors-Lakers series, which will take place on Monday, 8th May at 7:ooPM PT.
