Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry addressed Jordan Poole in a July 6 Instagram Story after Poole’s trade to the Washington Wizards became official.
“Now that the trade is actually final, I figure I would come on here [Instagram Stories] and just say to JP how much I appreciated the four years, brother,” Curry said, whose Story was tweeted by Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area. “You’re a champion. You grew up right in front of everybody’s face in terms of — that first year where it was rough. [You had] a lot of injuries, just finding a way with going to the G-League and coming back and helping us finish 15-5 down the stretch in your second year. Us winning a championship in your third year, and fighting till the end this past year. So, I can’t wait to see you blossom, big fella. I can’t wait to see you shine in your own situation. I’m just looking forward to competing, obviously, and being a fan of everything that you become.”
Steph Curry on Instagram gives a long goodbye/thank you to Jordan Poole, and welcomes Chris Paul to the Warriors
“It’s gonna be different with us on the same side. Let’s get it!”
As part of the trade, the Warriors landed 12-time NBA All-Star Chris Paul. Last season with the Phoenix Suns, Paul appeared in 59 games, averaging 13.9 points, 8.9 assists and 4.3 rebounds per game while shooting 44.0% from the field and 37.5% from beyond the arc.
Warriors Felt Jordan Poole Was Unnecessary to Roster
According to The Athletic’s Tim Kawakami, Poole, 23, became expendable in the Warriors’ eyes.
“What’s clear to me after a few days of checking around is that this all began when the Warriors decided that Poole was an extraneous and inefficient member of their roster,” Kawakami wrote in a story published June 28. “That was the precipitating issue. The Warriors wanted out of the $123 million deal they gave Poole only eight months earlier because his play last season didn’t meet that value, especially given their extreme luxury-tax pressures. They knew he wanted a bigger role and they knew that almost certainly wouldn’t happen as long as Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson were on the team.”
Warriors leadership had good reason to be concerned about the young guard’s new contract extension. He’d played inconsistently ever since agreeing on the four-year, $123 million deal, and he melted down in the postseason. Poole averaged 10.3 points per game in the postseason, almost half of his per-game regular-season scoring. And his shooting splits were even more horrifying. He converted just 34.1% of his attempts from the floor (11 percentage points lower than his career average) and 25.4% from deep (nearly 8 percentage points lower).
Steve Kerr Excited About Warriors Trade
In the days following the big move, head coach Steve Kerr called the dea “a very positive shift.”
“We’re going to be a lot different. The last thing I’m going to do is say anything about a team that just won a championship a year ago and then fought through a difficult season. Made a helluva run at the end of this year. I’ve loved this group that we’ve had the last couple years,” Kerr told Kawakami in a story published June 24. “But the biggest point is that we sensed we needed a shift. Didn’t mean we needed an overhaul, but we needed a shift of some sort. I think everybody in the organization sensed that. And it feels like we’ve made a pretty significant shift without giving up our identity and our sense of who we are as a team. I think, all in all, it’s a very positive shift.”
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Stephen Curry Sends Strong Message to Jordan Poole After Warriors Trade