Debacle is probably the word best-suited to describe what happened to the Golden State Warriors during Game 4 of their Western Conference Semifinal series with the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday night. After having led the contest by double digits late in the third quarter, the club stumbled in grand fashion across the final 12 minutes to land themselves in a 3-1 hole.
In particular, some questionable shots and uncharacteristic miscues from Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson loomed large in the result.
One player who wasn’t involved in the late-game collapse was the struggling Jordan Poole, who was allotted a season-low 10 minutes in the contest (during which he went scoreless on 0-of-4 shooting). Long after the clock hit 00:00, though, Poole created some controversy of his own by refusing to face reporters in the locker room and playing music on his phone as they questioned him, as relayed by NBC Sports Bay Area’s Kerith Burke.
Given that and Poole’s strange body language throughout the night, Andscape’s Marc Spears was compelled to sound off on the baller during a KNBR appearance on Tuesday, going so far as to say the Dubs should consider moving on from him.
Marc Spears Blasts Warriors’ Jordan Poole Amid Poor Postgame Decorum
While discussing the Warriors-Lakers series on KNBR’s Papa & Lund, Spears made it known that he wasn’t down with Poole’s behavior on Monday night. He even championed other Dubs players over the 23-year-old.
“I think Jordan Poole, to be quite honest, has just showed us selfishness … To me, if you look at Moody and you look at Gary Payton II, they oftentimes haven’t been given an opportunity. But they were ready when called upon. Moses Moody basically has shown me that if you want to move Poole, you can. He’s ready to step up and take that role,” Spears opined.
Poole has been a hot mess during the current postseason, averaging just 10.5 points per contest and shooting 34.2% from the field and 27.8% from deep. Meanwhile, his net rating of minus-2.0 is the worst mark among the club’s “foundational six.”
That said, Spears is more concerned about the extracirricular stuff than anything.
“Just the body language on the bench and during timeouts and some of the comments in the locker room and turning his music on on a cell phone in the locker room so he could hear music, which is typically supposed to be a dour environment after you lose such a tough game,” listed off Spears.
If the Warriors Did Decide to Trade Poole Away, They Could Have a Hard Time Actually Pulling It Off
As Spears sees it, the current offseason “might be the time” for Poole and the Warriors to end their relationship.
“Really [I’ve] just been kind of disappointed about Poole’s everything from the way, not only that he’s played, but the lack of accountability as well,” the longtime league insider added.
Alas, Poole might be one of the least tradeable players in the Association at this juncture. The four-year, $128 million extension he signed before the season officially kicks in next season; he’ll make just under $27.5 million to start, with incremental raises pushing his number to $34 million by 2026-27.
His output hasn’t come close to alligning with those numbers, either (during the playoffs or the regular season). While Poole averaged a career-high 20.4 points per contest in ’22-23, he shot a pedestrian 43.0% from the floor and 33.6% from deep.
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Insider Slams Jordan Poole, Urges Warriors to Trade Him Amid ‘Selfishness’