Jordan Poole’s first act with Wizards was unfollowing Draymond Green

Jordan Poole didn’t waste time cutting ties with an old Warriors teammate after he was traded to the Wizards.

Less than a year removed from the punch heard around the world, Jordan Poole has unfollowed Draymond Green on Instagram, knowledge we have thanks to Twitter sleuths who are into monitoring that sort of thing. 

For those who don’t remember, before the Golden State Warriors‘ season started, Green reportedly punched Poole in a Warriors practice, with footage of the incident leaking to TMZ weeks after it happened. There was presumed mending of fences, but obvious tension between the two from that point on during the season.

Jordan Poole moved on from Warriors right after he was traded

Poole unfollowing Draymond Green comes just hours after he was traded to the Washington Wizards on Thursday. It’s arguably a clear indicator that Poole’s connection with the team, and especially Green, was strained.

Green, for his part, might not be long in Golden State, either. He has already opted out of the final year of his contract in order to negotiate a new deal in free agency. Green could certainly re-sign with the Warriors, though.

Jordan Poole’s Warriors extension was doomed from the start

Poole signed a four-year extension with the Warriors in October leading into the 2022-23 season. By the end of the year, it was clear the financial commitment was ill-advised, and a rare stain on now-former general manager Bob Myers’ record.

Poole upped his per-game scoring and assist numbers in the 2023 season, but failed to be effective for the Warriors in the postseason, serving as a massive dead spot offensively with seven games with fewer than 10 points scored and eight games with worse than 35 percent shooting from the field of the 13 playoff games he played in.

After scoring 21 points in Game 1 against the Lakers, here was Poole’s scoring output thereafter in the series that saw Golden State eliminated:

• Game 2: 6 points
• Game 3: 5 points
• Game 4: 0 points
• Game 5: 11 points
• Game 6: 7 points

Regardless of how well Poole did or did not perform, though, the salary doled out to him doomed his fate on the team. He’s earning $28.7, $30.9, $33.1, and $35.3 million over the next four years, respectively. With Curry earning over $50 million per year for the next three years and Klay Thompson earning over $40 million, the rationale behind giving Poole a contract so bad was questionable from the start.

Now, Golden State brings in a seasoned veteran in Chris Paul in return for Poole. Paul is owed $30.8 million as well, so he doesn’t bring more flexibility for the Warriors, but he does have an earlier out, with a non-guaranteed year in 2024-25, the last year of his contract. That gives new general manager Mike Dunleavy a light at the end of the tunnel to work with financially.