Jamila Coleman
Anchor Staff Writer
Jordan Anthony Poole, born in 1999, is an American basketball player reigning from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Currently, Poole plays for the Golden State Warriors, an NBA team based in San Francisco, California. Typically, Poole is noted for his goofy “meme” behavior, but if you’ve just recently found out about him, then you most likely either know of him due to his altercation with teammate Draymond Green, or his $140 million, four-year deal that he recently signed. After reading several arguments in which NBA fans believed that Poole was being insanely overpaid, I’ve begun to form my own opinion.
The 2022-23 season will be Poole’s third, meaning that he hasn’t been in the league for long. On Twitter, it seemed that the concern of many was that Poole hasn’t had enough time to show his true ability. Some fans think that the Warriors are jumping the gun with such a big payout. Poole had one good season so far, but what if his next few are horrible?
Well, that’s why he signed only four years. I personally think that giving Poole $140 million for four years is a good risk to take. A deal significantly lower than that could’ve run him out of the Bay, seeing what took place just a few weeks before that contract was sealed, and given the structure of the Warriors, that wouldn’t be good. In the next several years, you’ll have the current leaders like Stephen Curry, Andre Iguodala, and Green, getting ready to leave the game. It’ll be during that time that Poole will be especially vital for the team.
Another concern isn’t about how long Poole has been in the league, but about his obvious imbalance between his defensive and offensive skills. Offensively, Poole is a factor, there’s no doubt about that. But defensively, he could use some work. However, as true as that is, there are many high paid players in the league that are extremely good at one thing and mediocre at another. For example, James Harden is good at offense only, and Green is only good at defense. Sure, Poole could do some tuning on the defensive end, but if he’s scoring as well as he has been, then he’s still getting the job done.
In just his second season, Poole averaged 18.5 points off the bench and was a great help for the Warriors in the finals. I’m certain that both of these things were taken into account when negotiating a salary. And if you’re one of those people that believe the $140 million was “hush money” to keep Poole unbothered in regards to the punch that Green landed on him, then I guess that further proves all that I’ve been saying: The Warriors realize Poole is a future necessity and are willing to take that chance on him.
If it’s not clear already, my final verdict is that Jordan Poole’s contract is a fair bargain, given the fact that he is an investment. Before looking at the bigger picture, I can see why somebody might think Poole is being overpaid. I mean this guy wasn’t a starter, he’s only a threat in one category and we haven’t seen a lot of him. However, when you look at the longevity of the Warriors, Poole’s stats given his circumstances, and what they’ve recently accomplished as a team, it makes total sense.