The tumultuous Wizards tenure of Jordan Poole continued as home fans booed him for a 0-point game against the Cavs. Poole went 0-5 from the field and 0-4 from three as the Wizards fell 114-106 for their 41st loss of the season. Poole did have 2 rebounds and 5 assists but that was far from enough to silence the frustrated home crowd. Kyle Kuzma and Corey Kispert combined for 51 points as the Wizards kept it close. Meanwhile, the Cavs were led by a 40-point performance from Donovan Mitchell to improve to 33-16.
After being traded to Washington, Poole has had a wild season. There have been flashy alley-oops to himself while down 20. He annoyed his teammates by calling his own shot multiple times in the preseason. However, he also simply epitomizes the mediocrity of a Wizards team that seemingly has no desire to improve. Putting up 15.6/2.3/3.6, he is the best player on a bad team but is not the "best player" in the same way that LeBron was the best player on those bad Cavs teams.
Kevin Garnett Says Jordan Poole "Does Not Belong In The League"
Meanwhile, it's not just fans who are frustrated with Poole. Last November, Kevin Garnett also took aim at Poole. Speaking on his show on Showtime, Garnett spent several minutes roasting Poole, eventually saying "he does not belong in the league". Garnett questioned Poole's professionalism, as well as his myriad antics that have already occurred during the early weeks of the NBA season.
However, one person who seemingly has Poole's back is Andre Iguodala. In a September podcast appearance with JJ Redick, Iguodala reflected on the less-than-ideal role that Poole had to play for the Warriors. In short, Iguodala summarized that the Warriors were built around Steph, Klay, and Draymond. Poole, who would often play off the bench, was expected to play without the freedom or the eccentricities afforded to the team's Big Three. If Draymond was having a wild night with errant passes and the like, Poole had to be perfect. If Steph was cold from three, Poole had to be hot. In Iguodala's eyes, Poole had to play clean-up to whatever the Big Three wasn't doing on any particular night.
[via]