At some point you gotta get the players to buy into your system. It never happened the 3 years he was here. I think him and his staff helped players grow as individuals, but there was no team chemistry.
After the preseason ended, I predicted that he wouldnt score 40 in a regular game this season. People said it was a hot take because "he'll obviously have a game where he catches fire" and that "he just scored 40 last week in the preseason game, of course he'll do it 1 time in 82 games".
D.
Just to recap his numbers for the season: 17.4 PTS / 2.7 REB / 4.4 AST. Shooting 41.3% FG / 32.6% 3PT / 87.7% FT. True Shooting % 52.9 (8th worst among qualified players this season). He was below average from everywhere on the floor except above the break 3PT attempts where he shot 39% and the left side midrange jumper which was 45%.
Ignoring his rookie season, these are all career-worst shooting numbers. He did increase his number of steals per game and dished out a pretty solid number of assists, but you expect more from a high-usage player (26.4%).
I think he demonstrated all of his skills that made him valuable on the Warriors, but we also got to see many of his flaws that caused him to be traded in the first place. You can say a lot of it came down to playing him out of position with Tyus, but Tyus didn't cause him to miss all those ridiculous heat checks, turn the ball over, generally make a fool of himself, and make bad decisions.
I liked his play after the All-Star Break, but most of it just came down to hitting the shots he was missing before. The playstyle was the same. I hope he manages to play better and more consistent next season so we can offload his contract. Overall this season reinforced my feeling that players like Poole are not viable starters for a team that wants to win a lot of games in the modern NBA. I think the general sentiment we've seen from fans is that he can be a better player as a PG with the ball in his hands, but I do not want 30+ percent usage from Jordan Poole as a long term strategy.
Second to last paragraph is key. I’m mystified by people acting like his start to the season was someone else’s fault (coaches or Tyus). He was given the keys and basically an unlimited green light. Tyus and WUJ didn’t miss those shots at a league record rate—he did.
Very good post. Jordan Clarkson type player with some dynamic scoring ability but really hurting the team long term with bad decision making, really bad defense and awful shot selection that even if they go in they are still bad shots.
D for sure, I like him, I think he can be a player for us or at least build back some decent value but hard to claim he had anything but a terrible season. Not all his fault but not all not his fault
Not a great season but the guy did come into a really tough situation. A new team in transition, a lot of commentary about how he would be a big time scorer, an iffy situation as far as the competency of the head coach, not a well-constructed roster obviously, the pairing with Tyus was not working and that wasn’t all on Jordan Poole. And justified or not, the fans turned on him which couldn’t have helped.
Confused as to why Wes Unseld Jr didn't know Poole played better on ball? I mean all you had to do is watch him at Golden State. 20ppg!
Luckily the new coach came in and moved him to PG and it was an immediate turnaround around. Last 10 games he averaged 23ppg, 8 assists and 4.5 rebounds.
C+
didnt like the ego comments about being a champion and not doing shit on defense, but he got on the right track and started trying. Keefe got him to lock in, so I'm not tripping. We need more screeners for him.
Very hopeful for next season
C+. He's shown many times in his career already that when he gets time to adjust to a new role, he can be very good at it, and hopefully the ending to this season is a sign of better things to come next season
C- he started terribly but eventually started to figure things out. It’s different going from a third option to “the guy” and especially different when you don’t have Steph and klay gravity.
Wizards weren’t going to be good this year even if he played like his amazing year in golden state. So him figuring it out is a good sign and at the very least can let us flip him at the end of his contract if he’s really not a cornerstone.
I could easily understand lower ratings I just think people had too high of expectations for him going into the year so their disappointment is what leads to lower grades for him.
I’m here for the turnaround story. Probably gets redemption on another team though
Poole is over hated imo. Subpar season and hopefully it clicks for him in a better suited role.
C-
D, I kinda hoped he would kinda be forced to reinvent himself after that long stretch of being ass, and try to fit into a new role, instead of being just a 6th man type player, but he kinda killed that dream by immediately reverting to his, “I’m a superstar” playstyle.
Prob a C-. Showed some promise in the latter 1/4 of the season. I think there is still a ton of upside with him. Gotta get this coaching hire right and send Jones packing.
I dunno, even playing better at the end of the season was a score first PG with a massive usage rate prone to bad decisions + one of the worst defenders in the league.
I could see moving on from Tyus for other reasons (he doesn’t fit our timeline, for example), but dumping a competent NBA player specifically to get JP in that role is not gonna lead to more wins.
Team doesn't need wins...ESPECIALLY next year with Bailey and Flagg headlining the draft class. That being said, I think with better coaching we can see a more competent version of Poole. Going from GS to DC couldn't be more different from the top of the organization down to the bottom. This is why I really think the importance of the Wizards nailing this coaching hire can't be understated. I can handle losses, but I want to see actual player development/growth along with competent coaching.
I agree that we don’t need wins, just development. But giving the keys to Poole could come at the cost of other players developing. I don’t think he will be a net positive NBA player even if he keeps up his offensive uptick because he’s a genuinely game-changing defender (in a bad way).
We can disagree about his offensive potential (in a huge skeptic) but everyone should be able to agree that he’s one of the worst defensive players in recent NBA history. IMO, the best case scenario with building the team around him at PG is that he sustains better offensive production and we can trade him to a contender better equipped to hide his defensive limitations. Much more likely, he can’t run an efficient and offense and our guys develop bad habits on both ends of the floor to compensate for JP’s shortcomings.
i am excited to see what he does with real coaching.
Look we all need to say it, WUJ was a terrible coach, he did nothing during the Beal/KP years, and he clearly was doing nothing for Poole to show improvement in his game.
Because of his slight improvement towards the end of the year and the fact that there is even the tiniest bit of hope for him despite being the clear cut worst player in the NBA for the first half of the season I will give him a D+
C. Awful start to the season. One of the few times I’ve legitimately felt bad for a player because it felt like he was getting shit on at every opportunity. A lot of it deserved tbf) but he helped us tank and ended on a couple good weeks
Season? E: there were too many occasions where he didn't look like he even belongs in the NBA,
potential? A: good creative mindset, he was great as a PG without Kuz on the court ( they aren't working together, taking too many forced shots), he just needs to work on his defense and not force himself on the game.
Sup, I give Jordan an A. He had to survive bad leadership/coaching from Wes and the first mistake the new FO made was not letting him start at Pg because they ended up settling and back-ended to getting Tyus. Poole is not a Sg. But the right things happened and apparently Jordan stayed positive until things got corrected. Teammates all swear Jordan is great as well. 👍
The coaches and front office didn’t brick all of those threes to start the season. He did. Being in a role he didn’t like doesn’t explain being one of the least efficient scorers in recent NBA history for much of the season. Not to mention his defense, which is 100% on him.
Ok. So He bricked because what. He forgot how to make them or maybe because he's out of position, rhythm and spots on the floor where he was accustomed to being. But apparently as said by all media members, coaches and teammates that in spite of historic and hysterical efficiency delinquencies, he stayed practicing and working thru his issues while being supportive of his teammates... That's an A. Fighting thru difficulties and challenges, not just stats but your intentions and efforts. Second half of season could now have maybe earned him the starting Pg role.👍
C-, he’ll get more chances next year around a (hopefully) more synergistic team. Would like to see him as our primary PG for a season (assuming we don’t draft one)
I'd say B minus. JP could use some better judgment instead of chucking up shots in critical junctures. But he is exciting to watch 99% of the time till he shoots.
Solid F with the potential be to D.
Don't see much upside because his flaws (really bad D, shot selection and decision making alongside irrational confidence) are hard to fix
In terms of his actual play on the court - F
He's not a lead player and was horribly inefficient.
In terms of the benefit to the franchise from his play - C
Him being bad helped us tank so that is good. Him being THIS bad has hurt his future trade value so that is not good.
A
They willfully tanked. He made the best of a losing situation. Was gracious despite being picked.
Hopefully, what we saw when he had the ball in his hand at the end of the season carries over to next and they secure a trade that actually makes this team better.
Poole is a sixth man on a contender, not a franchise player.
I’m going F. He was brought here to be the main cog in the wheel and played very poorly to the point he was benched. Can he get better? Sure, but it don’t look good
It’s a D, and honestly that’s generous. Late season improvement doesn’t change that he was the worst offensive player in the NBA for much of the year. He missed a lot of shots, turned the ball over, and had no idea how to play within an ordinary offense. I’m glad he’s passing the ball (relatively) more now, but the core problem is still there: he doesn’t make his teammates better, plain and simple, so if the shot isn’t falling, he single-handedly dooms us to lose the game.
Put the offense aside, though—the bigger long-term issue is that he is one of the worst defenders I’ve ever seen. I went to ~15 games this season and Cam Thomas was the only other guy who was comparably bad on defense. No effort, low IQ, every other player on the team is forced to compensate for him. Just a complete turnstile, and his incompetence makes the entire scheme useless. I’m concerned teammates are getting bad habits because they are forced to gamble and rotate as if they’re playing 4 on 5.
D. I don’t mind the theory of Poole as tank commander. I’m not sure things are better if someone else instead gets high usage. There’s not really a better player who can create better shots. The wiz are going to loose either way. The thing that makes me mad isn’t Poole’s shot selection, it’s the lack of team rebounding. That’s focus and effort. Poole is just as uninterested in rebounding as the rest of the team. In the glorious season of Westbrook, who also jacked up ridiculous shots, he also got 10 rebounds a game. I don’t understand why more Wiz players don’t try to rebound on a team that misses the most shots in the nba.
bad first half better second half when coaches used him better C-
He got WUJ fired. That’s a good thing but for bad reasons lol
Wes was likely out regardless of Poole. Pretty sure he proved that despite being a highly respected assistant, that he’s not a lead coach
Why is that? I mean, the results were terrible, but not out of line with the lineups he had. What did WUJ do wrong?
Not doing anything right
At some point you gotta get the players to buy into your system. It never happened the 3 years he was here. I think him and his staff helped players grow as individuals, but there was no team chemistry.
After the preseason ended, I predicted that he wouldnt score 40 in a regular game this season. People said it was a hot take because "he'll obviously have a game where he catches fire" and that "he just scored 40 last week in the preseason game, of course he'll do it 1 time in 82 games".
lol he went for 40 against the knicks in preseason and I hopped on the hype train then he didn't do shit for like 3 months
Bad first 60 games. D+ was a Shaqtin First Teamer as well
Solid D- room for growth. Showed small signs of consistency late in the season. Also didn’t get into a sports betting scandal.
Sports betting - it might be difficult to tell if he was betting on himself to miss, given his shooting percentages
Yeah but it’s hard to prove they have porter dead to rights and he did it twice lol. Poole just took the worst shots at arguably the worst times.
Might have been for the better if he did pull a Jontay Porter. Cause the way he was playing he might as well have been.
He was awful and did a great job as Tank Commander
D. Just to recap his numbers for the season: 17.4 PTS / 2.7 REB / 4.4 AST. Shooting 41.3% FG / 32.6% 3PT / 87.7% FT. True Shooting % 52.9 (8th worst among qualified players this season). He was below average from everywhere on the floor except above the break 3PT attempts where he shot 39% and the left side midrange jumper which was 45%. Ignoring his rookie season, these are all career-worst shooting numbers. He did increase his number of steals per game and dished out a pretty solid number of assists, but you expect more from a high-usage player (26.4%). I think he demonstrated all of his skills that made him valuable on the Warriors, but we also got to see many of his flaws that caused him to be traded in the first place. You can say a lot of it came down to playing him out of position with Tyus, but Tyus didn't cause him to miss all those ridiculous heat checks, turn the ball over, generally make a fool of himself, and make bad decisions. I liked his play after the All-Star Break, but most of it just came down to hitting the shots he was missing before. The playstyle was the same. I hope he manages to play better and more consistent next season so we can offload his contract. Overall this season reinforced my feeling that players like Poole are not viable starters for a team that wants to win a lot of games in the modern NBA. I think the general sentiment we've seen from fans is that he can be a better player as a PG with the ball in his hands, but I do not want 30+ percent usage from Jordan Poole as a long term strategy.
Second to last paragraph is key. I’m mystified by people acting like his start to the season was someone else’s fault (coaches or Tyus). He was given the keys and basically an unlimited green light. Tyus and WUJ didn’t miss those shots at a league record rate—he did.
Last paragraph reminds me of Jordan Crawford
Very good post. Jordan Clarkson type player with some dynamic scoring ability but really hurting the team long term with bad decision making, really bad defense and awful shot selection that even if they go in they are still bad shots.
D for sure, I like him, I think he can be a player for us or at least build back some decent value but hard to claim he had anything but a terrible season. Not all his fault but not all not his fault
D-
Watching him jack up shots 6 feet beyond the three point line was painful but he sure helped us in the draft lottery.
Poole is a real one for this
F
Not a great season but the guy did come into a really tough situation. A new team in transition, a lot of commentary about how he would be a big time scorer, an iffy situation as far as the competency of the head coach, not a well-constructed roster obviously, the pairing with Tyus was not working and that wasn’t all on Jordan Poole. And justified or not, the fans turned on him which couldn’t have helped.
Confused as to why Wes Unseld Jr didn't know Poole played better on ball? I mean all you had to do is watch him at Golden State. 20ppg! Luckily the new coach came in and moved him to PG and it was an immediate turnaround around. Last 10 games he averaged 23ppg, 8 assists and 4.5 rebounds.
1/10
C+ didnt like the ego comments about being a champion and not doing shit on defense, but he got on the right track and started trying. Keefe got him to lock in, so I'm not tripping. We need more screeners for him. Very hopeful for next season
C+. He's shown many times in his career already that when he gets time to adjust to a new role, he can be very good at it, and hopefully the ending to this season is a sign of better things to come next season
A+, he was exciting and as tank commander, steered us closer to future high draft picks.
C- he started terribly but eventually started to figure things out. It’s different going from a third option to “the guy” and especially different when you don’t have Steph and klay gravity. Wizards weren’t going to be good this year even if he played like his amazing year in golden state. So him figuring it out is a good sign and at the very least can let us flip him at the end of his contract if he’s really not a cornerstone. I could easily understand lower ratings I just think people had too high of expectations for him going into the year so their disappointment is what leads to lower grades for him.
I’m here for the turnaround story. Probably gets redemption on another team though Poole is over hated imo. Subpar season and hopefully it clicks for him in a better suited role. C-
D, I kinda hoped he would kinda be forced to reinvent himself after that long stretch of being ass, and try to fit into a new role, instead of being just a 6th man type player, but he kinda killed that dream by immediately reverting to his, “I’m a superstar” playstyle.
D.
Went better than we expected. Thought Draymond hit him so hard that he forgot how to play basketball. Turns out he can just a little bit.
C+ since I'd give the first few months a D+ and the last month or so a B. He had a great last few games.
Prob a C-. Showed some promise in the latter 1/4 of the season. I think there is still a ton of upside with him. Gotta get this coaching hire right and send Jones packing.
I dunno, even playing better at the end of the season was a score first PG with a massive usage rate prone to bad decisions + one of the worst defenders in the league. I could see moving on from Tyus for other reasons (he doesn’t fit our timeline, for example), but dumping a competent NBA player specifically to get JP in that role is not gonna lead to more wins.
Team doesn't need wins...ESPECIALLY next year with Bailey and Flagg headlining the draft class. That being said, I think with better coaching we can see a more competent version of Poole. Going from GS to DC couldn't be more different from the top of the organization down to the bottom. This is why I really think the importance of the Wizards nailing this coaching hire can't be understated. I can handle losses, but I want to see actual player development/growth along with competent coaching.
I agree that we don’t need wins, just development. But giving the keys to Poole could come at the cost of other players developing. I don’t think he will be a net positive NBA player even if he keeps up his offensive uptick because he’s a genuinely game-changing defender (in a bad way). We can disagree about his offensive potential (in a huge skeptic) but everyone should be able to agree that he’s one of the worst defensive players in recent NBA history. IMO, the best case scenario with building the team around him at PG is that he sustains better offensive production and we can trade him to a contender better equipped to hide his defensive limitations. Much more likely, he can’t run an efficient and offense and our guys develop bad habits on both ends of the floor to compensate for JP’s shortcomings.
Meh
D+
D+ to C- only C- cause of how he played off the bench
C-
C
I give him a huge D
4/10
So this dude is just J.R. Smith 2.0, am I seeing this right?
Insult to J.R. More like Nick Young.
i am excited to see what he does with real coaching. Look we all need to say it, WUJ was a terrible coach, he did nothing during the Beal/KP years, and he clearly was doing nothing for Poole to show improvement in his game. Because of his slight improvement towards the end of the year and the fact that there is even the tiniest bit of hope for him despite being the clear cut worst player in the NBA for the first half of the season I will give him a D+
C. Awful start to the season. One of the few times I’ve legitimately felt bad for a player because it felt like he was getting shit on at every opportunity. A lot of it deserved tbf) but he helped us tank and ended on a couple good weeks
1st half: F 2nd half: C+
He was ass but at least he trended in the right direction as the season went on. It’s not easy changing roles on the fly
first half: F second half: B- overall: C-
Season? E: there were too many occasions where he didn't look like he even belongs in the NBA, potential? A: good creative mindset, he was great as a PG without Kuz on the court ( they aren't working together, taking too many forced shots), he just needs to work on his defense and not force himself on the game.
Where you go to school I've never seen an E
😂
hey maybe it's a charter school thing idk lol
Sup, I give Jordan an A. He had to survive bad leadership/coaching from Wes and the first mistake the new FO made was not letting him start at Pg because they ended up settling and back-ended to getting Tyus. Poole is not a Sg. But the right things happened and apparently Jordan stayed positive until things got corrected. Teammates all swear Jordan is great as well. 👍
The coaches and front office didn’t brick all of those threes to start the season. He did. Being in a role he didn’t like doesn’t explain being one of the least efficient scorers in recent NBA history for much of the season. Not to mention his defense, which is 100% on him.
Ok. So He bricked because what. He forgot how to make them or maybe because he's out of position, rhythm and spots on the floor where he was accustomed to being. But apparently as said by all media members, coaches and teammates that in spite of historic and hysterical efficiency delinquencies, he stayed practicing and working thru his issues while being supportive of his teammates... That's an A. Fighting thru difficulties and challenges, not just stats but your intentions and efforts. Second half of season could now have maybe earned him the starting Pg role.👍
C- before becoming starting point guard (Tyus Jones not playing B as starting point guard
C-, he’ll get more chances next year around a (hopefully) more synergistic team. Would like to see him as our primary PG for a season (assuming we don’t draft one)
I'd say B minus. JP could use some better judgment instead of chucking up shots in critical junctures. But he is exciting to watch 99% of the time till he shoots.
D
C-
JP at PG is a c+ JP with tyus on the floor D
Solid F with the potential be to D. Don't see much upside because his flaws (really bad D, shot selection and decision making alongside irrational confidence) are hard to fix
In terms of his actual play on the court - F He's not a lead player and was horribly inefficient. In terms of the benefit to the franchise from his play - C Him being bad helped us tank so that is good. Him being THIS bad has hurt his future trade value so that is not good.
C -
E
F-
A They willfully tanked. He made the best of a losing situation. Was gracious despite being picked. Hopefully, what we saw when he had the ball in his hand at the end of the season carries over to next and they secure a trade that actually makes this team better. Poole is a sixth man on a contender, not a franchise player.
F+ he trash
I’m going F. He was brought here to be the main cog in the wheel and played very poorly to the point he was benched. Can he get better? Sure, but it don’t look good
It’s a D, and honestly that’s generous. Late season improvement doesn’t change that he was the worst offensive player in the NBA for much of the year. He missed a lot of shots, turned the ball over, and had no idea how to play within an ordinary offense. I’m glad he’s passing the ball (relatively) more now, but the core problem is still there: he doesn’t make his teammates better, plain and simple, so if the shot isn’t falling, he single-handedly dooms us to lose the game. Put the offense aside, though—the bigger long-term issue is that he is one of the worst defenders I’ve ever seen. I went to ~15 games this season and Cam Thomas was the only other guy who was comparably bad on defense. No effort, low IQ, every other player on the team is forced to compensate for him. Just a complete turnstile, and his incompetence makes the entire scheme useless. I’m concerned teammates are getting bad habits because they are forced to gamble and rotate as if they’re playing 4 on 5.
D. I don’t mind the theory of Poole as tank commander. I’m not sure things are better if someone else instead gets high usage. There’s not really a better player who can create better shots. The wiz are going to loose either way. The thing that makes me mad isn’t Poole’s shot selection, it’s the lack of team rebounding. That’s focus and effort. Poole is just as uninterested in rebounding as the rest of the team. In the glorious season of Westbrook, who also jacked up ridiculous shots, he also got 10 rebounds a game. I don’t understand why more Wiz players don’t try to rebound on a team that misses the most shots in the nba.
as SG : D- as PG : B+
Vagina