The Washington Wizards might not have found their future franchise star just yet, as summer acquisition Jordan Poole is struggling to find success in Washington. Poole has been dreadful to start the season, and co-star Kyle Kuzma has shared the reason behind Poole’s struggles.
“It’s tough when you’re coming from being a third or fourth option. I can speak on this because I’ve done it. You’re coming into a new situation and where you’re more of a focal point, it’s tough sometimes. That’s a lot of responsibility. You have to be able to obviously produce at a high level, but get your teammates involved, too.”
Poole is averaging 16.6 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 3.4 assists to start his season with the Wizards, ranking fans and analysts with his sloppy play. Poole is ignoring coaches during timeouts, making silly plays, and is far from the example of a championship-winning veteran many expect him to be.
Kuzma has escaped a lot of the blame during this Wizards stretch, but that’s also because his play on the court is solid. He’s averaging 22.9 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 4.6 assists and could be a piece that teams around the league target closer to the trade deadline. The Wizards are reportedly considering a trade for Poole, but it’s unlikely that he could drum up the same interest Kuzma can.
Kevin Garnett Says Jordan Poole Doesn’t Deserve To Be In The NBA
Poole’s early-season struggles have been hard to ignore, given his woeful production on one of the worst teams in the NBA. Many young stars thrive with the kind of opportunity Poole has gotten, but the former Wizards star is not finding that to be the case. His unengaged attitude on the court really upset Hall of Famer Kevin Garnett, who went on a rant about Poole not deserving a spot in the NBA.
“This is what you learned in Golden State? Them n****s don’t act like professionals. They got your ass out of there because you couldn’t fall in line. N****s like this do not belong in the league. He doesn’t belong in the league as the head of a team. I don’t want my son with a n****a like that. You see how he talks to his teammates? ‘Shut up my n***a, this is my team, I got this.’ You can say whatever you want about me, I never disrespected the game and the position of being a leader.”
Poole hasn’t looked like a great leader, though it’s still early in the season. He has plenty of time to find his groove once again after going through the adjustment period that Kuzma is talking about. Hopefully, it doesn’t take too long as it won’t be long before he’s declared a bad asset by teams around the NBA and be virtually unmovable due to his large contract.
The Wizards are clearly in a rebuild, so maybe the 25-year-old Poole has more time to develop before the team has to take a decision in the future. But actively playing Poole while he’s being an on-court detriment will be bad for morale. The team doesn’t have many veterans in the locker room, with Poole and Kuzma expected to provide that.
Kuzma clearly has taken a leadership role in Washington but his co-star might need more time to adjust. Hopefully, he can still live up to the James Harden-esque expectation people had of him when he first got traded.
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