Jordan Poole has recently received a huge four-year, $140 million contract extension from the Golden State Warriors. There is no doubt that this was a good move by the franchise, which managed to retain the young guard without paying him a max-level contract.
Though he clearly has developed a lot as a player to earn this extension, there are still things that Jordan Poole can improve on. Steve Kerr has recently pointed out that he wants Jordan Poole to improve on the defensive end of the floor and noted that Poole needs to get better on defense to play heavy minutes for the team in the playoffs.
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“I’m going to keep talking to him about his defense because I want him to play big minutes. He’s earned this contract. He’s earned every penny, but I reminded him that last year in the playoffs he played 17 or 18 minutes a game. I wanna play him 30, 32 minutes, but that can only happen if he continues his progression as a player on the defensive end.”
There is no doubt that Jordan Poole’s agility and speed suggest that he could at some point be a passable perimeter defender against guards. That is likely all the Golden State Warriors want him to be able to do on that end of the floor, besides the obvious improvement in overall defensive awareness.
Jordan Poole Is A Key Piece For The Golden State Warriors
There is no doubt that the Golden State Warriors believe that Jordan Poole is the future of the team. Jordan Poole himself has high hopes for his future, claiming that he’d love to be an All-Star in the future.
“I did it,” Poole told Grant Liffmann on the latest episode of the Dubs Talk podcast. “I did what I needed to do for the small-town kids’ dreams. I said with [being in COVID-19 protocol], ‘Let’s re-evaluate, what can we actually do?’ There’s never been anything I’ve seen that has felt too challenging to where it’s like there’s no way I’ll be able to do that.
“All-Star? Yeah, why not? Championship? Why not? I’m seeing some of the best players in the world every single day in our facility. If they’re doing it, I can just follow their path, it works for them. I try and apply it to what I can do and I’ll give myself the best chance. In terms of if there is anything that I want to do, yeah All-Star, win a championship, shoot [90 percent] from the line. Stuff like that.”
Hopefully, we continue to see improvement from Jordan Poole going forward. His combination of three-level scoring, creativity, and playmaking on the court makes his ceiling as a player extremely highly.
There is a real possibility that Jordan Poole finishes as the No. 2 scorer for the Golden State Warriors next season. Perhaps we’ll see the Warriors give him more opportunity on offense, and allow him to take on secondary scoring responsibilities behind Stephen Curry.
