NBA
Andre Iguodala wants fans to stop blaming Jordan Poole for the Warriors’ regular-season struggles
Zach Wolpin is an NBA and NFL expert who's been betting on the league for over three years now. Wolpin has been a fan of the NBA and has been watching for a decade and a half. He covers the latest news and stories surrounding the league daily. His passion in life is watching sports and being able to share that through his sports writing. He has written about the NBA and other sports leagues through various media outlets over the years like Sir Charles In Charge, G-Men HQ, and TAP into South Plainfield. Before he became an NBA News Writer, Wolpin attended Montclair State University where he graduated in 2021. He studied Sports Media and Writing while in school.
All posts by Zach WolpinUpdated18 Aug 2023
Last year, the Warriors’ regular season was shaky, finishing sixth in the West. They barely escaped the first round of the playoffs and then lost in six games to the Lakers in the second round. This offseason, they traded away Jordan Poole to the Wizards for NBA veteran Chris Paul. Recently, Andre Iguodala sat down for a conversation with Gilbert Arenas. The long-time Warrior said that fans to stop blaming Poole for the Warriors’ regular season struggles in 2022-23.
In reality, Poole was one of the most durable players for the Warriors last season. Kevon Looney and himself both played in all 82 games. The Warriors did not have the offensive consistency that they’ve been used to in the past. Coming into the 2022-23 season, Golden State was fresh off winning the 2022 NBA Finals vs the Celtics.
That same lineup had just won their fourth title in the last decade and the Warriors were very comfortable with running the same team back. Draymond Green and Jordan Poole got into a scuffle during the preseason and a punch was thrown. That tarnished Poole’s relationship with the Warriors and it led to his trade this summer.
Andre Iguodala says to stop blaming Jordan Poole for the Warriors collapse.
And Poole should average 25+ for the Wizards this year. pic.twitter.com/LVpfqbOj9U
— Gilbert Arenas (@GilsArenaShow) August 17, 2023
The Jordan Poole narrative has gotten out of hand according to Warriors’ veteran Andre Iguodala
When Draymond Green punched Jordan Poole during the preseason, it was a huge headline. The Warriors struggled to win games last season and Poole started to get the blame early on in the season. Later down the line, we would learn that Green punched Poole was acting cocky and thought he was better than everyone else.
After just winning the Finals, the Warriors signed Poole to a four-year, $128 million extension. He was on the Warriors for just one season of the deal. The altercation between Poole and Green was not great for their locker room and the Warriors were playing .500 basketball for most of the season.
Last season, Steph Curry led the team with (29.4) points per game. However, he only played in 56 games last season. Andre Iguodala saw how consistent Jordan Poole was last year. For the first time in his career, he averaged 20 points per game, doing that over 82 games played. The Warriors are trying to cash in on the small championship window they have left with their core players. Jordan Poole was not a part of those future plans after the 2022-23 season.
