1: Jordan Poole
Jordan Poole went from being a Most Improved Candidate in 2021-22 and winning a championship with the Warriors to being a disgrace in the playoffs in 2023. Life comes at you fast. The 2019 first-round draft pick was sent to the Wizards earlier this offseason in a deal centered around Chris Paul.
Poole averaged 20.4 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 4.5 assists in all 82 regular season games for Golden State this past year. He shot 43% from the floor and a dismal 33.6% from three. Poole was a disaster in the playoffs as he averaged only 10.3 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 3.5 assists in 13 games, shooting a terrible 34.1% from the field and an even worse 25.4% from three.
Before the start of the 2022-23 season, Poole signed a four-year, $140 million extension with the Warriors. To follow that up with a poor playoff performance didn’t help Poole’s cause. Even RJ Barrett managed to turn it up in the postseason.
Poole is on a younger team in D.C., where he’ll be allowed to be in the spotlight he craves. He won’t be competing for a championship, but the 24-year-old could have quite the bounce-back season with a more significant role. The $27.5 million he’ll be making is only slighter more than the $26.3 million Jalen Brunson will be making, but Brunson is not only a better scorer, but he plays selfless, too.
13 Players the New York Knicks held onto for too long
The New York Knicks want to return to their glory days, but here is a look back at the talent the franchise just could not quit when they had the chance.