Getty Jordan Poole of the Golden State Warriors.
Austin Reaves was undoubtedly more impactful than Jordan Poole was as the Golden State Warriors fell to the Los Angeles Lakers in the second round of the playoffs. Though Reaves made a name for himself this spring, likely earning a nice pay day this summer, Austin Rivers isn’t convinced that he’s in the “same realm” as Poole.
“I love Austin Reaves, I love his talent,” Rivers said on the May 22 episode of the “Off Guard” podcast. “His best skill is how aggressive he is as a player. He’s aggressive every time he gets the ball. He’s in attack mode all the time. Turnover, missed shot, don’t matter. He’s not the quickest, can’t jump the highest, not the greatest shooter, he’s not the most skilled. But, he can do a little bit of everything here and there. He’s aggressive, he attacks, I love it, and he competes. His skill level is not the same same as Jordan Poole’s, it’s not even in the same realm.”
Reaves was impressive throughout L.A.’s playoff run, scoring an average of 16.9 points per game, while shooting 46.4% from the field and 44.3% from deep.
Rivers wasn’t letting recency bias skew his takes, hammering home on being a fan of Poole’s over Reaves.
“I don’t know if you’ve seen the s— that Jordan Poole does and the range he has, the shot making ability. If you’re talking skill level for skill level, they’re not even in the same [realm]. Again, I say this as an Austin Reaves fan, I like is game, he’s nowhere near Jordan Poole, let’s not get it twisted, in terms of skill level.”
Who would you rather have on your team in the long term: Austin Reaves or Jordan Poole?
@AustinRivers25 and @paush discuss this and more on the latest #OffGuard.
Jordan Poole Shoots Down Rumors of Warriors Exit
While Reaves was catching the eyes of fans leaguewide in the postseason, Poole was doing the same, just for the wrong reasons.
The 23-year-old averaged just 10.3 points, 3.5 assists, and 2.2 rebounds per game throughout. His efficiency fell off a cliff, as he made just 34.1% of his attempts from the floor and 25.4% from deep.
His performance was so poor that many fans have been calling for him to be traded this summer.
Unfortunately for them, Poole doesn’t see himself going anywhere this offseason.
“I don’t know why I wouldn’t be [back],” Poole told The Ringer’s Logan Murdock. “It wasn’t a bad year. I mean, career highs in two categories. I was able to make history with Klay and Steph. My first game-winner. It was a lot of good things that happened this season. It wasn’t a bad season. Yes, I’m in the fabric. Yes, I belong here in this organization, bridging the gap. And I’m a young guy who was drafted here. We won a championship last year, and we have another chance to do it again. And I don’t know why anybody else would feel otherwise. I don’t think anybody is thinking like that.”
Warriors’ Jordan Poole Opens Up on Playoff Meltdown
During his exit interview, Poole tried to pinpoint where things went wrong for him in the playoffs. He cited a role change as part of the reason why he wasn’t able to be as impactful as he was last year when the Dubs took home the title.
“Probably just a little bit of a role change,” Poole said. “Last year, I could come in, score, be aggressive with the team that we had around being more of a facilitator. Trying to get guys off the ball. Get them easy shots. Throughout the course of the playoffs, we had two really good defensive teams that we played. Just trying to find ways to facilitate, get inside.”
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