Warriors Steve Kerr Sounds off on 22-Year-Old Guard: ‘He’s Got the Potential’

Getty/Kavin Mistry Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr calls out to his team against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Third-year Warriors phenom Jordan Poole started this season off scorching hot. With Klay Thompson still rehabbing back from his Achilles injury, Poole was given all the minutes he could handle next to Steph Curry, and balled out to the point he was an early candidate for Most Improved Player.

However, once Thompson came back to claim his starting spot on January 9, Poole was moved back to the bench and play less minutes. After getting comfortable in a starting role for the Warriors, Poole has been trying to figure out his new role as a sixth man. Not surprisingly, the Michigan product struggled. Players that come in off the bench have less room to make mistakes since they play less minutes. Everything they do on the court is magnified even more than starters.

Young players like Poole usually take longer to make adjustments to excel, because they don’t have too much experience with changing roles. From January 9 (Thompson’s season debut) to March 1, Poole struggled mightily averaging 14.1 points on 41.7% shooting and 32.1% from three in 26.6 minutes.

On March 12 against the Bucks on national television, Poole went off for 30 points on 16 shots. He also chipped in with 5 assists and 6 rebounds.

The third-year player seems to have figured it out.

Over the past six games, the 22-year-old has scored at least 20 points in all of them. In this span, Poole is averaging 24.8 points with 5 assists, and 3.5 rebounds. He is shooting it at an unsustainable 60.2% and a whooping 57.1% from three.

After the win against the Bucks, Steve Kerr raved to reporters about Poole’s development this season.

“I’ve been really hard on Jordan for this whole season because I know he’s got the potential to be an All-Star,” Kerr admits. “I keep telling him don’t settle for Sixth Man of the Year, go be an All-Star. To be an All-Star you need to be a two-way player. His growth has come pretty dramatically over the last two seasons, but most of that growth has come on the offensive end. We’re just going to keep pushing him to be better defensively.”

Everyone watching the team knows now that Poole has the ability to score pretty easily. Whether it be pulling up from three or getting to the rim, his offensive skillset is a natural fit to the Warriors complex offense.

Kerr believes Poole has the ability to duplicate his offensive success to the defensive end. Like his coach says, if Poole can improve on staying in front of opponents on defense, he could very well become a multiple time All-Star.

“For a young player that’s amazing to hear from your head coach,” Poole reacts to his coaches praise after the game. “[Someone] who is as legendary as he is…for him to be as honest and straightforward like that. It’s amazing to hear just the fact he believes in me like that. You have to step up to the challenge and accept it.”

Having coaches and players publicly give words of encouragement for young players can only help them build their confidence. The sky is the limit for J-Poole.

Steve Kerr Seems to Have Found New 3-Player-Lineup

Against the Bucks, Kerr tinkered again with the starting lineup when he plugged Poole in with Thompson, Curry, Andrew Wiggins, and Kevon Looney. The Dubs offense has been stagnant lately when Curry was getting doubled, so having Poole there as a secondary playmaker make opponents think twice before doubling Curry.

“Those three have been playing really well,” Kerr talks about the Thompson-Curry-Poole lineup. “But also, I felt like Holiday would be all over Steph and that they would double quite a bit and blitz. So, we just felt like rather than going with Moses who’s been starting the last few games just getting Jordan out there as a secondary playmaker, we’d have some openings.”

Although just a 104-minute sample size (30 minutes the past two games), the Thompson-Curry-Poole lineup seems to have opened up another dimension for the Dubs offense. Kerr closed out the Nuggets with the trio on the court at the end of the game, and it worked out well enough that he decided to try it out to start the game against the Bucks.

Warriors Have Plan in Place to Play Poole over Thompson at Times

With Thompson still working his way back to his pre-injury self, inconsistencies with his shooting are bound to happen. Although Thompson popped off for a season high of 38 points on 15-of-24 shooting against the Bucks, he will for sure have nights where he won’t be able to shoot it that well. Thompson is currently shooting 37% from three, and has not shot under 40% from the perimeter for a season yet.

Recently, a Warriors source told Heavy.com’s Sean Deveney that Poole may see minutes over Thompson, when the Splash Brother is struggling. It’s troubling that Thompson is still inconsistent this close to the postseason, but the ascension of Poole this season gives the Warriors another offensive weapon to use next to Curry.