NBA Rumors: Harden’s next move, Warrior hypes Poole, 3-team Lillard trade

NBA Rumors: Andre Iguodala hypes up former Warriors teammate Jordan Poole

Andre Iguodala appeared on the ‘Gilbert Arenas Show‘ to talk about his former Golden State Warriors teammate Jordan Poole. The Warriors shipped Poole to Washington in exchange for Chris Paul over the summer, a move that essentially amounts to a salary dump after Poole signed a four-year, $128 million extension in 2022.

Poole is expected to take on a starring role for the rebuilding Wizards, who will have no shortage of intriguing offensive weapons. Golden State’s 2022-23 season was extremely disappointing and Poole was a regular target for criticism. Iguodala doesn’t understand the hate.

“He was the only one that got to the [free throw] line for us,” Iggy said of his former teammate. “Y’all blame him for the [bad] year we had last year, and he averaged 20?”

The short answer to Iggy’s question is ‘yes.’ Poole deserves a fair amount of criticism for how he went about scoring his 20 points per game, often operating outside the strictures of Steve Kerr’s offense with a real appetite for over-dribbling and contested pull-up jumpers. Poole’s shooting percentages were down across the board compared to the prior season and his defense was atrocious.

On the flip side, Iguodala does generally have a point. He expects Poole to average 25-plus in Washington and that’s certainly within the realm of possibility. Poole is a dynamic on or off-ball shooter with twitchy handles and effortless touch. If he can refine his shot selection and make a more consistent effort to involve teammates in Washington, he’s going to be one heck of an offensive engine.