Several anonymous NBA teams have called Jordan Poole's fully guaranteed four-year $128M contract "one of the worst in the league right now", according to ESPN's Bobby Marks. Poole was meant to become the face of a new-look Wizards team but has not lived up to expectations. Putting up 15.6/2.4/3.7, Poole is a mediocre leader on one of the league's worst teams. And yet, because Poole's contract is guaranteed, the Wizards are stuck with him. Furthermore, they will likely owe him a further $2M for playing at least 65 games per season, a necessity because they have no one better to sub in as things stand.
Criticism of Poole has only increased in recent months as he has struggled to make his presence on the league known. Kevin Garnett went as far as to state that Poole "did not belong in the league." Do you think the criticism of Poole is fair? Or do you think people are too harsh on the 24-year-old? Let us know in the comments.
Jordan Poole Booed For 0-Point Game
Earlier this month, 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. With his current stat line, 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.
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