Jordan Poole is stepping into a new role with the Wizards after former Warriors teammate Andre Iguodala gave the 24-year-old some wise advice.
After Poole spent four years with the Warriors with stars Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, he was sent to the Wizards in a trade that netted Golden State guard Chris Paul.
Iguodala, who was Poole’s mentor during his time in the Bay Area, was up-front about telling Poole to grow up to take on the responsibility of being the face of a franchise.
“He’s already starting to make the right strides,” Iguodala said to Gilbert Arenas on the “Gil’s Arena” podcast. “I’ve heard about what he’s been doing with his teammates. The other day, I was asking him about his teammates, and he knew everything about every one of them. And I’m like ‘OK, now we starting off on the right path.’
“He brought them all out to LA. He did! He’s leading.”
Poole was drafted by the Warriors in 2019 as the No. 28 pick out of Michigan, winning an NBA title with the Warriors in 2022.
Last season, he averaged 20.4 points and 4.3 assists per game in the regular season but averaged just 0.3 points per game in the Western Conference semifinals as the Warriors ultimately lost the series to the Lakers in six games.
Despite the poor showing in the postseason, Iguodala defended Poole’s overall performance last year, and he believes Poole has the ability to top that performance in his first year with the Wizards.
“He averaged 20 last year, on a bad year. He’s going to get to the line. He’s the only one who got to the line for us last year consistently,” Iguodala said. “People act like he had a bad year. I’m like, ‘OK, a bad year? Y’all blamed him for the year we had last year and he averaged 20.’ [He will average] 25-plus, easy. He’s going to get to the line.
“And then at home, you have to give him the whistle at home, he’s going to average 30 at home. And it’s Chocolate City, so you know who’s going to be in the stands, they got all the memes. Every time he sees a bad chick, he’s going for 40.”
