Grooming the Warriors’ new sixth man: Behind the scenes of Jordan Poole’s maturation (2024)

The frustration was mounting in Jordan Poole, brewing like a pot of coffee inside the National Basketball Players Association headquarters in Manhattan. The fumes emanating from Poole filled the aura of this condensed private court, lined with black padding underneath walls decorated with the NBPA’s black-and-gold logo. In an effort to reset, he tried walking it off, meandering a few steps from the 3-point line. Then he returned to the drill, trying to heal his ailing jumper.

Clank off the left rim. Then a swish. Miss long off the back rim. Then a rattle-out. Miss. Miss. Make. Miss. Left rim. Back rim. Swish. Right rim. The misfires continued piling up. He just couldn’t gain any sort of rhythm.

Poole scored 57 points in back-to-back wins over Charlotte and New Orleans. Then, out of nowhere, his outside shot betrayed him. The next five games: 38 percent from the field, 11-for-45 from three. The night before, in Charlotte, he had just 13 points on 12 shots — and this time the Warriors lost, underscoring his struggles. He was so ready to end this mid-November slump.

So on this light practice day for the Warriors, Poole was going hard. The only veteran present was Andre Iguodala. Some 20 minutes into Poole’s routine, Iguodala emerged from the training table and wandered down to the empty end of the court. He stole moments between free throws to glance at Poole. Perhaps the OG sensed the tension.

Iguodala was a few free throws in when he, like everyone else in the gym, heard a sudden, loud bang.

One of Poole’s bricks had bounced back into his hands. The 22-year-old, his frustration boiling over, turned and fired the ball to his left, zipping a heater at the padded wall. But Poole missed his target. The slump continued. The ball sailed high and crashed into a panel of 18 monitors that together formed one big screen. One of them was visibly cracked as discoloration formed in the bottom right.

Everyone saw it. Nobody said a word.

Iguodala put his ball down. With slumped shoulders and eyes pointed towards the screens, he began a slow, theatrical walk toward the crash site. He stood directly under the impacted screen, in Poole’s periphery, and put his hands on his hips while staring up for about 10 seconds.

“Oh, you’re gonna have to pay for that,” said Iguodala, who is also the first vice president of the players’ union. He turned his attention towards the NBPA reps on the other side of the gym and yelled, “We gotta make sure that he pays for that.”

Iguodala walked back to the opposite court. Clearly irritated, he continued shooting free throws while lobbing comments for the whole gym to hear.

“I guess I’m going to have to explain to all the players,” Iguodala said, “why $450 is coming out of their next check.”

Through it all, Poole remained silent. No arguing. No defensive retort. He continued working on his jumper, trying to find his stroke. And when he was done, he walked over to NBPA reps and apologized, asking what arrangements needed to be made.

The veteran’s chastising had worked.

“I love Andre, man,” Poole said. “Andre comes from a different era. He says what he wants. He’s very direct with you. But he also will reassure you that, ‘Yo, this is all love. I’m not doing this to everybody.’ Andre probably only messing with me around the gym because he really like hanging out with me.”

Welcome to the life of Jordan Poole, and the life of those charged with pruning the talented third-year guard. He isn’t just the shining example of the Warriors’ development program. Poole is also its unintentional vetter, pushing its limits and keeping it honest. He is both confident and coachable, diligent and rebellious, arrogant and thoughtful. He keeps everyone on their toes, sometimes drives them crazy and pushes the envelope. And they love him for it because there is never a dull moment with Poole. Plus, the investment in him has paid significant dividends with promises for more.

His is a rather unique existence within the NBA ecosystem. Championship contenders don’t normally rely on young players.

The Warriors have three recent lottery picks — James Wiseman, Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody — all drafted higher and paid more than Poole. But they’re younger, earlier in their developmental curve and further from a contract extension. Most relevant, they’re not entrenched in the nightly rotation for this team, which has emerged back into a title contender.

That makes Poole the rarity in this win-now, develop-now organizational plan. He embodies the dichotomy of the Warriors. They need him to win in the immediate term while still building his future foundation. He’s the lone pup who runs with the Warriors’ veterans on every game night, which magnifies both his mistakes and his importance.

His place in the Warriors’ pecking order is a fascinating position. It’s like J. Cole said in his hit single “Middle Child” — I’m dead in the middle of two generations. I’m little bro and big bro all at once.

“The dynamic is what you see,” Poole said. “I’m not the youngest. I’ve been around for a little bit, but I’m kind of like the only one in the middle of the pack. The older bros have been through it. Sometimes we’re gonna throw you with the young guys, sometimes you can come with us. Essentially, it’s the middle-child treatment.”

Poole started the first 28 games this season, averaging 17.9 points and proving he could be a capable cog within the league’s best defense. If the 28th overall pick hadn’t exploded into a legitimate Most Improved Player candidate in his third season, the Warriors would be in a more unsettled place while waiting for Klay Thompson’s return. Instead, Poole’s growth has provided backcourt stability, which allows them patience to ease Thompson toward a soft landing spot.

But Thompson is returning. Very soon. Steve Kerr has already made the obvious clear: Thompson will take back his starting spot immediately and eventually the 30 minutes and nightly place in the closing lineup attached to it.

That means, technically, a demotion for Poole. Right when his career appears to be ascending, his opportunity will decrease — six months before he becomes extension-eligible.

Those pecking-order dynamics can become tricky in locker rooms. It’s what derailed Reggie Jackson’s time in Oklahoma City, when he used to write SPG (starting point guard) on his sneakers despite backing up Russell Westbrook. Carmelo Anthony famously said he wouldn’t come off the bench, a stance that fed into him going most of the 2018-19 season without a team.

So how will Poole handle it when it’s his turn? Monday night was an encouraging sample. He erupted for 32 points in 26 high-energy bench minutes. But how about the nights when Thompson is on, Poole isn’t and the minutes and shots are decreased?

“I was always a whatever-the-team-needs type of player,” he said. “I know what I bring to the table.”

Who is taking his starting spot also matters. It’s a Hall of Famer, franchise legend and mentor who Poole tries to shoot alongside any chance he gets.

“Right. Right,” Poole said. “sh*t, we winning games, to be honest. It hasn’t been talked about much. We know he coming back. We know we got games tomorrow and the day after that. I haven’t really thought about it too much. I know what I bring to the table. I know I can impact the game.

“I had a big impact last year in the back half of the season coming off the bench. I don’t know, bro. We were not good my first couple years. Now we’re (29-7) or whatever. You kind of just ride that wave. Ride that wave. Anything can change for anybody at any time. Injuries, rotation, minutes, anything is possible. Whatever opportunity I’m given, I need to make it work.”

That’s essentially the mindset that led the Warriors to draft Poole, and why they’ve stuck with him despite him looking over his head as a rookie.

Back in 2018, when Warriors general manager Bob Myers took his seat at the United Center, he asked assistant GM Mike Dunleavy who he should have his eye on during the Big Ten conference tournament they were scouting.

“He’s like, ‘You gotta watch this Poole guy,’” Myers said.

Poole was hardly a household name at that point. He finished his sophom*ore season at Michigan averaging 12.8 points for the 30-win Wolverines. But the Warriors were drawn to his possession of their three preferred skills: dribbling, passing and shooting. Even though he shot just 43.6 percent as a sophom*ore (36.9 percent from 3), he was a good free-throw shooter and also good at creating separation.

He walked into the Warriors with enough confidence to argue with Draymond Green in his first training camp. He arrived in the NBA with his own swag. But it didn’t turn off the Warriors because he also came with an intense work ethic.

“I think what kept me as a fan was his work ethic,” Myers said. “When you talk to college coaches and you see these intel reports, it’s always, ‘Last guy in the gym, and first guy there.’ And, ‘Great kid, one of the best I’ve ever coached.’ There’s so much of that hyperbole around players that you really kind of gloss over. You don’t know until you know. And I think with Jordan — he’s the one. He does have a desire to work that’s his own. I wish we could say we did that. But you’ve got to have that desire. And we found that he did.”

It’s what prompted the Warriors to double down on Poole. After his first season, when they were deciding whether to pick up his third-year option, it wasn’t exactly a no-brainer. But in the meeting where they were debating what to do, Warriors assistant coach and Poole confidant Chris DeMarco reminded the staff of Poole’s work ethic.

It’s the one thing everyone in the organization can agree on about Poole: He puts in the work. The Warriors have the technology and data to show Poole is in the gym more than any player. They know from the NOAH tracking system how often he’s getting up shots and when. And that’s on top of the vouching he gets from the coaches who work with him.

Even when he was trapped in a Boston hotel, quarantining for 10 days as part of the NBA’s health and safety protocols, Poole was working. The Warriors training staff left some jump ropes and resistance bands behind. He spent his holiday in the Four Seasons doing burpees, mountain climbers and whatever he could to keep up his cardio.

“What’s the substance of the guy? Forget about the style,” Myers said. “What’s the substance? And then you can appreciate the style. But having the substance that he has makes you a fan of him because nobody doesn’t like somebody who works. If he didn’t work, the personality would fit a narrative of, ‘Well, he loves the life and not the game.’ Somebody could accuse him of that. But you can’t accuse a worker of that. And he’s earned that, right? I mean, his teammates know how much he works. It’s not fake.”

But there is no bigger believer in Poole than Poole. The Warriors’ veterans, who can give a masterclass on how to read and manipulate the dynamics within an NBA locker room, know this better than anybody.

It’s a big reason Iguodala has taken Poole under his wing, guiding and preparing him for the sixth-man role that Iguodala once accepted for the same franchise. He knows, at this point of Poole’s young career, perspective will be needed to remain content. He’d have to see the value of accepting a diminished role on a contender when 35 minutes and 20 points would be available nightly elsewhere.

“The new sixth man is getting $20 million a year,” Iguodala said. “That’s the bottom offer for a guy like that, the Tyler Herros and Jordan Pooles. You got those few guys who are starters but for teams they are on, they’re sixth men. You don’t have a problem with going above and beyond taking care of them because you know they’ll be a staple player for your franchise.”

Plus, there are added benefits to Poole’s situation. Not everyone gets to learn the craft next to an all-time great in an era favorable to his style of play because of that same all-time great.

The Poole who Steph Curry sees reminds him of his second-year self, when he had the confidence but had yet to build the body of work to match it.

“He’s still grinding,” Curry said. “But also it’s a hard comparison because I didn’t have that model to watch right next to me. That for him is the dope part but also the temptation to skip a couple steps. But you’re always going to be measured against that, and that’s not fair either. Because I didn’t have that measuring stick of what shooting 12 3s a game at 40 percent looks like right there next to me. I think it’s dope because he’s competitive enough to take those shots knowing obviously who he’s playing with right now.”

Said Poole: “Everything Steph does, I watch. I’d be a fool to not. And it’s not like I’m watching it and applying somewhere else. I’m applying it in the same system he’s in.”

Iguodala and Poole go out to dinners on the road and regularly talk about the path of his career.

“What I tell him,” Iguodala said, “we’re not working right now for the next contract, we’re working for the contract after that. He’s a guy I’m working on. I think he gets it. He’s not playing basketball because of how much money he’s getting — $2 million or $20 million per year, same effort. He’s a good person. I think that’s a big difference when it comes to: Do I want to pay this guy? Do I trust this guy with all this money? If anything, when you give him so much money, he’ll put so much pressure on himself to outdo the salary. Those are the type of guys you want.”

The Timberwolves visited San Francisco in early November. The scalding Warriors would win pretty easily to improve to 10-1. But early in the third quarter, while up 17, cameras caught a heated exchange between Poole and Draymond Green.

It started a few possessions before the timeout. Green inbounded to Poole ahead on the right wing and followed his pass with the intention of setting a screen for Poole, getting the offense into some action. But Poole, a confident isolation scorer, decided to operate against D’Angelo Russell. He rejected the screen and tried to take Russell baseline. A dispirited Green watched Poole’s winding drive lead to nothing.

The possession ended in a Curry travel. After the whistle, Green yelled upcourt to Poole. A timeout was called. Green, voicing his frustration loud enough for everyone to hear, expressed his displeasure over Poole’s habit of rejecting a screen in favor of an isolation.

“Why don’t you say it to my face?” Poole shot back, or at least a version of such.

Green leaped from his seat to do just that. Curry and Gary Payton II jumped instantly between Green and Poole, about 10 feet away, preventing the incident from escalating. It was a microcosm of the Poole experience. Young teammates — really, any teammate — don’t usually snap back at Green in the moment like that.

But that’s Poole. He questions everything and invites vocal conflict, knowing he’s quick on his toes with a comeback. Reporters have learned that, at least once per interview, he will redirect a question back from where it came.

“With the media, they can leave stuff up for interpretation,” Poole said. “It can go left or right depending on how you answer it. So if you ask a question, I want you to be specific so I know how to answer it.”

Media is one thing. But his veteran teammates, with championship rings?

“In terms of players, there’s a lot going on,” Poole said. “You need to see both sides of the perspective. I’ll say what it is that I saw, so you at least know what I’m thinking. That’s all it is. It’s not like, ‘Oh, I’m snapping back because I’m all mad at what you said.’ It’s like, ‘Well, you said what you said. Let me throw this out there and now we can come in the middle and see what I need to fix or if you understand where I’m coming from.’”

During a blowout win in Brooklyn, the night after Poole damaged that television, he committed a fastbreak foul despite Green being in position for a defensive stop (as detailed further here).

Both Green and Kerr, from different sides, lit into Poole for the mistake. He’d just dunked to put the Warriors up by 20. He’d been playing great. Why such a berating on a public stage? Why not mention it while reviewing film the next day out of view of the public?

Poole’s had such thoughts. As any young player would.

“He doing all the screaming and yelling,” Poole said, “and, it’s like, ‘I would’ve listened to you if you whispered it.’ You know what I’m saying? But that’s who he is as a person. … Some people are laid back, want to bring you to the side and casually talk to you. Others are loud and want to jump in your face and scream and get their point across. All you gotta do is take what the main piece is out of it, fix it and keep pushing. I was trying to get back in the play, Draymond had him, I fouled. It happens. He said whatever he said. We keep it pushing.”

Kerr calls him coachable. Poole said he’s not sensitive. He can dish out stinging comments, so shouldn’t he be able to take it? That’s the type of mindset veterans love because it cultivates winning.

Poole recalled a defensive breakdown a few weeks back with a tinge of pride. The Warriors were beaten on a backdoor cut. Green got on Poole in the huddle for it. Poole, of course, revved his engine back.

“Draymond went down to double,” Poole said. “Well, I thought Draymond went down to double. It was a backdoor cut and a layup. He came over and said something in the huddle, like: ‘Be more aggressive on the double.’ I was like: ‘I thought you went. So I was just going to stay high, you could take the backdoor cut, you could take the block.’ He looked at it. I showed him the clip. I thought it was a good point. He said: ‘Alright.’ Then you keep it pushing.”

That’s a win for Poole. He’d delivered Green a reasonable basketball explanation and Green had accepted it. That’s a sign of the expanded trust and respect Poole has gained in the last year.

He’s an offensive gunner whose ambition leads to errors. He’s still in the early stages of gaining the knowledge and strength needed to defend at a winning NBA level. But he tries. He corrects. He absorbs criticism well. He works. There’s a belief among the franchise leaders that he cares about the right things.

“His confidence stems from the work ethic,” Iguodala said. “People on the outside have no idea. It’s like: ‘Most improved.’ Nah. He’s always been like this. It’s just the maturity, his game, his confidence is coming together at the right time.”

Poole’s shot selection is a constant topic within the Warriors. They need his secondary scoring and playmaking, especially when Curry is off the floor, but he does have a tendency to chuck a few shots he shouldn’t, especially when Curry is on the floor.

Kerr has tried to delicately strike that balance of keeping him aggressive and confident but demanding discipline. It’s why both Kerr and Curry were so openly pumped about this specific transition play in late November when Poole passed up a transition 3 to get it back to Curry.

Both Steve Kerr and Steph Curry mentioned this specific Jordan Poole transition pass last night as a sign of growth.

The play and the soundbites pic.twitter.com/Gt2eFlqOJt

— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) November 25, 2021

Poole, a month later, was asked about that moment. He immediately remembered the play.

“If I can get him a good look to get us going as a team, I’ll pitch it back,” Poole said. “But I told him, ‘Bruh, he called for the ball.’ I told him, ‘If you ain’t call for the ball, I would’ve shot it.’”

There is Poole in one quote. He implemented the feedback and executed the correct read, but made sure everyone is also aware that he could’ve chucked it, next time he might chuck it, and he’s just as confident that he’d bury the 3 as Curry.

“We’re giving Jordan a lot of rope,” Kerr said. “We want him to be aggressive. We need him to get to the rim. We need him to attack. That means he’s going to make some mistakes because he’s just in his third year.

“But we have the internal leadership to rein him in. It’s not always me or one of the coaches who has to watch film and say, ‘That’s what you should’ve done.’ It’s our veteran players — Andre, Draymond, Steph. They piece it together and help Jordan. There’s some tough love, some lighter stuff, everything in between. What I love about Jordan is he’s very coachable. He listens. His growth is continuing because of his willingness to learn and admit he doesn’t know everything.”

What he does know, however, is that he’s good. And he’s only getting better.

His potential was on display again Monday night at the Chase Center. Poole showed exactly how he can still be integral to the Warriors. With Curry struggling mightily — 3-for-17 from the field, 1-for-10 from 3 with just nine points — it was Poole who carried the Warriors offense.

“I just like the perseverance,” Curry said. “I told him, like, the way the Clipper game (last month) happened, not a lot of people can do that — go 32 minutes and have nothing go your way and then just like boom, boom, boom. Or like the Phoenix first quarter (in the first matchup, when Poole scored 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting). Not a lot of people have that in the wheelhouse, in their tool kit. So that’s an irrational level of confidence. Obviously, the skillset is there. That’s dope.”

And as the finishing touch Monday against the Heat, he punctuated the performance with the highlight of the night. In fitting fashion, too.

It began with him rejecting a screen from Draymond Green.

The hesitation move helped him blow by Miami guard Kyle Lowry, leaving just Heat center Omer Yurtseven as the only obstacle to the basket. Poole drove hard to his right, rose up and punched it over the 7-footer with his right hand.

oh
me
oh
my pic.twitter.com/3lvVi8tzMf

— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) January 4, 2022

He flexed from his back on the ground as Chase Center roared. At the top of the key, Green yelled and flexed. The Warriors were on their way to knocking off the Heat and Poole was central to the win. The championship veteran was the loudest hype man for his young buck.

And then Green walked over to Poole under the basket and did exactly what Poole asked him to do — he went and said it to his face.

(Photo of Jordan Poole and Draymond Green: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)