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The Golden State Warriors will soon be facing a decision on what to do with breakout star Jordan Poole, and one insider believes that the longer the franchise waits, the more expensive that decision could become.
The 23-year-old Poole had a nearly unprecedented breakout over the last season and a half, going from the edge of the Warriors roster to a fixture of the starting lineup and key part of the recent title run. He averaged 18.5 points in 30 minutes per game last season, and now appears to be the centerpiece of the youth movement for a franchise looking to stay in title contention for many years to come.
Poole became eligible for a rookie-scale extension in July, and Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area believes some recent contracts for Poole’s peers could be driving up the price for the Warriors.
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Poole’s Price Tag Rising
As Dalton noted, the Warriors have until October 17 to reach a deal with Poole on a rookie extension or else he heads to restricted free agency next summer. He noted that three recent contracts indicate that the Warriors could be paying a lot for their young star.
Portland Trail Blazers guard Anfernee Simons and Dallas Mavericks guard Jalen Brunson, both picked the year before Poole, have reached signed $100 million contracts this offseason and both have similar if not slightly worse stats than Poole. New York Knicks and swing guard RJ Barrett just finalized a rookie-scale extension that could be worth up to $120 million, and Johnson noted that Poole is already more accomplished.
“Throughout the playoffs, Poole was the Warriors’ second-best offensive player at 22 years old in his first crack of the biggest stage,” he wrote. “[Steph] Curry was the only Warriors player better on that side of the ball. That’s not bad company to be a part of. Barrett has made the playoffs once, and averaged 14.4 points in a first-round series loss where he shot 38.8 percent. Overall in the playoffs, Poole averaged 17.0 points and shot 50.8 percent from the field for the champs.”
Jordan Poole is only becoming more expensive with contracts handed out to a handful of players this summer
@DaltonJ_Johnson breaks it all down
Johnson noted that the San Francisco Chronicle’s Connor Letourneau reported in late June that Golden State’s starting point with Poole would be four years and $100 million, but said that price has likely risen since then.
Warriors Face Tough Decisions
The Warriors will have a number of decisions to make over the coming year. Beyond their decision with Poole, Golden State also has three core players who will be eligible for extensions — Draymond Green, Andrew Wiggins and Klay Thompson. The Athletic’s Anthony Slater and Marcus Thompson II wrote that Wiggins is the most likely to get done, and the team will likely wait to see if Poole can follow up his breakout season before making a final decision on him.
Jordan Poole gets EVERYBODY hyped 🗣️
“But the Warriors appear intent on maintaining flexibility as they continue to search for ways to suppress their future tax bills,” they wrote. “They can wait an extra summer on Poole, reassess their roster and priorities, while ultimately being able to match any contract he finds.”
While that could give the Warriors some relief if Poole fails to match his breakout year, it could also mean an even larger contract if he continues to play as he did in their recent title season.
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Price Tag Could Be Rising for Warriors’ Breakout Star: Insider