3 teams that should try buying low with Jordan Poole trade
By Ian Levy
The Jordan Poole era in Golden State may have come to an end with his disastrous postseason. Which teams could take advantage with a low-ball trade offer?
After the Warriors won Game 5 to stay alive in their second-round series with the Lakers, ESPN Insider Zach Lowe pointed to Jordan Poole and said that the Warriors would have to explore trading him this offseason. Then Poole went out and scored 7 points on 3-of-10 shooting, missing all three of his 3-pointers, in a 21-point, Game-6 loss that ended the Warriors’ season.
The Warriors inked Poole to a big new extension before this season started but he was a complete disaster across the entire postseason, shooting 34.1 percent from the field, 25.4 percent from beyond the arc and seeing his regular-season scoring average cut in half. A year ago, he looked like an indispensable part of the Warriors’ future. Now, he looks like a weak link on the roster that the Warriors may have to consider trading.
These three teams should definitely be trying to buy low on Jordan Poole:
3. Dallas Mavericks
The Mavericks reportedly would like to re-sign Kyrie Irving but there’s no guarantee that he returns. Even if he does, Dallas could desperately use additional shooting and creation on the wings around Luka Doncic and Poole absolutely fits the bill, even if he comes with consistency and defensive concerns.
It’s not clear what the Mavs cap sheet will look like with Irving, Christian Wood and Dwight Powell coming off the books and replacements needed for all those spots. But Dallas could conceivably offer the Warriors something like Davis Bertans, Reggie Bullock and their first-round pick, which would land at No. 10 if they don’t move up in the lottery.
That gives the Warriors a frontcourt shooter, another wing shooter in Bullock (whose contract for next year is only partially guaranteed) and a first-round pick to compensate them for whatever they’re giving up in upside from Poole. It’s not a great deal but it saves money they can commit to Draymond Green or someone else down the road and lets them take another swing at a young replacement late in the lottery.