Getty Stephen Curry and Jordan Poole of the Golden State Warriors.
It’s been a playoff run to forget for Golden State Warriors guard Jordan Poole. He’s essentially played himself out of the lineup as the Dubs fight for the playoff lives against the Los Angeles Lakers. Steve Kerr trotted Poole out there for just 10 minutes on Monday and he failed to even score a point, missing all four of his attempts.
After the 104-101 defeat, Stephen Curry tried to pull the focus off of Poole and onto the Warriors as a whole.
“I mean we get questions about him a lot, and it’s our whole team,” Curry explained via the House of Highlights YouTube channel. “We’re all together in a sense of trying to figure out how to win playoff games. We all have to make adjustments. We all have to play better, considering we’re in a 3-1 hole. There’s no sense of isolating him in this situation.
“It’s all about collectively ‘what can we do to be better?’ And the conversations we have in the film sessions, in the locker room are all consistent throughout the season especially in this playoff run, trying to answer that question. So he’s a part of that, we’re all a part of that and if we’re going to get out of this hole we all have to play better.”
Though this is an all-time great teammate move from
“I happened to be in the locker room when Jordan Poole spoke… let me paint a picture of what that locker room was like,” Burke reported via NBC Sports Bay Area. “So the Warriors’ PR was coming over and saying, ‘Jordan could you please talk postgame?’ He seemed a little reluctant, you could tell that he was very frustrated, he was facing his locker, actually.
Curry, there’s good reason why a large bulk of the focus has been on the 23-year-old’s struggles.
Poole hasn’t given the team much throughout the current playoff run. He’s averaged just 10.5 points, 3.5 assists, and 2.5 rebounds per game, while shooting just 34.2% from the field, and 27.8% from deep.
Jordan Poole’s Rough Night Causes Tension in Warriors’ Locker Room
With the inability to produce offensive becoming a reoccurring trend for Poole, his frustration has continued to grow. There was a sense of that after Monday’s loss, when reporters approached his locker for interviews.
NBC Sports Bay Area’s Kerith Burke detailed the strange tension during that moment.
“I happened to be in the locker room when Jordan Poole spoke… let me paint a picture of what that locker room was like,” Burke reported via NBC Sports Bay Area. “So the Warriors’ PR was coming over and saying, ‘Jordan could you please talk postgame?’ He seemed a little reluctant, you could tell that he was very frustrated, he was facing his locker, actually. So as the reporters gathered around him, when it did become clear that he would talk to us, his back was to us… He turned his music off for us. That locker room, the visitors locker room is really cramped. So when that music went off all of the other players were listening as well…it was like all eyes and ears were on Jordan right there.”
He didn’t have much to say once the questions started coming.
“My shot, I don’t know. If I knew I would tell you,” is what he offered, according to Burke.
Gilbert Arenas Wants Warriors to Trade Jordan Poole
Poole’s playoff issues have led to many wanting to see the Dubs move on from him this summer. Amongst those interested in the changes is Gilbert Arenas, who spent a few seasons with the Warriors in the early 2000s.
“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. He’s not Steph. He’s not a replacement. He’s showing me this s—t, that’s what he’s showing me,” Arenas said during his “Gil’s Arena” live stream during Game 3. “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.”