The joke may be on the Washington Wizards because Jordan Poole has been nothing but one to start the season. The Wizards thought they were getting a centerpiece player when the team acquired Poole in a trade this summer with the Golden State Warriors.
Washington traded future Hall of Famer Chris Paul for Poole, flipping the Bradley Beal trade. Four games into the season, Wizards fans are starting to believe the team got fleeced by the Warriors.
Fans, media, and even notable NBA players such as Kevin Garnett and Paul George felt Poole was gearing up for a James Harden-like emergence with Washington. Instead, Poole has been more like Jameis Winston — with fans anticipating a laugh.
The Wizards fell to a 1-3 record after losing to the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday by the score of 130-121. All three of Washington’s losses have been by a combined 51 points. Poole has struggled in all three defeats.
Poole scored 13 points against the Hawks on 5-of-13 shooting from the field. That was two more points than he scored in Monday’s loss to the Boston Celtics.
The season is fresh, but the early return of Jordan Poole hasn’t been great. He has averaged 17.3 points while shooting 38.5 percent from the field, including 24.1 percent from three. He has a combined plus/minus rating of minus 50.
Meanwhile, Poole is an 80 percent free-throw shooter. However, he has attempted one free throw in the last two games. Poole has been more reliant on wild shots than attacking the paint. What may be more troubling is Poole has had more laughable moments on the court than he has highlighted.
Poole made the top ranking of this week’s Shaqtin’ A Fool. At the height of his lowlights was his turnaround no-look three that he missed against the Grizzlies. Then, he dribbled the basketball out of bounds. Then, his failed turnaround three got blocked by former Wizard Kristaps Porzingis.
Wednesday, Poole caught everyone’s attention when he lobbed an alley-oop to Kyle Kuzma down 21 points against the Hawks.
The Warriors maintained a culture of winning championships. Their leadership from Draymond Green, Stephen Curry, and Klay Thompson created checks and balances. Washington doesn’t have those types of players in the locker room.
The Wizards are looking for Poole and Kuzma to provide that leadership. Both were a part of NBA championships. However, neither were at the forefront as leaders. They were supporting the cast. And right now, the green light being given to Jordan Poole by the Wizards is production red flags.
