Golden State Warriors veteran power forward/center Draymond Green had high praise for perhaps the least likely player in the league recently: his former 2022 championship teammate Jordan Poole, now with the Washington Wizards.
Per ESPN's Ohm Youngmisuk, Green reflected on the growth he saw from Poole in a 125-115 Warriors victory over Washington on Nov. 4.
"He's playing a lot better," Green said. "His shot selection... you come to a new situation, as a competitor you want to show everything," Green said. "I think last year he was pressing. He wanted it so bad. He's settling in. Last year were bad shots but he wanted it so bad."
In that loss, Poole scored 24 points on 8-of-20 shooting from the field (2-of-10 from long range) and 6-of-7 shooting from the foul line, while blocking four shots, dishing out three dimes, swiping three steals, and pulling down one rebound. On the year, the 6-foot-4 Michigan product is averaging a career-high 22.5 points on .449/.453/.920 shooting splits, 5.0 assists, 2.8 steals, 1.2 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks a night in six games.
Last season, his first with the Wizards, Poole's 3-point shooting was woefully inefficient. He connected on just 2.4 of his 7.2 triple tries a night in 2023-24 (32.6 percent)
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There is, presumably, no personal love lost between Green and Poole. Both players were seeking major contract extensions on the heels of their 2022 title with Golden State when things got memorably physical in an Oct. 5, 2022 practice. Green punched Poole in the face — a video was leaked of the incident two days later, and he was eventually fined for the infraction.
Poole inked a four-year, $123 million contract extension days later, but his tenure with Golden State seemed to be in trouble from that moment onwards. He was dealt to the Wizards that summer after the Warriors fell in a six-game Western Conference Semifinals series with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Green wound up declining his $27.6 million player option in the summer of 2023, and inked a four-season, $100 million deal with Golden State that will keep him under team control through 2026-27, when he has a player option.
After the Wizards game, Youngmisuk notes that both of the Warriors' two Hall of Famers, Green and All-NBA point guard Stephen Curry, offered up rave reviews for the developing Wizards' younger cohort. Green took special pains to celebrate rookie guard Carlton "Bub" Carrington and second-year swingman Kyshawn George.
"They earned my respect," Green said.
Carrington, selected with the No. 14 pick this past June out of Pittsburgh, is making a serious run at Rookie of the Year honors this season. In a 2024 NBA Draft light on anticipated superstars, Carrington is already making a high-scoring impact, and has earned a starting backcourt role next to Poole. In his first six NBA games, the 19-year-old is averaging 10.3 points on .438/.350/.929 shooting splits, 4.8 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 0.8 steals a night.
In the win over the Wizards, Green scored 18 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field (3-of-4 from deep) and 5-of-7 shooting from the foul line, while grabbing eight rebounds, passing for five assists and blocking one shot in 28:53 of action. The Warriors are now 6-1 on the year, despite having been without Curry for several games.
Bilal Coulibaly has been another standout for a 2-4 Washington squad this season.
The French-born Coulibaly, 20, was selected with the No. 7 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft out of Metropolitans 92, where he costarred alongside now-San Antonio Spurs All-Defensive First Team center Victor Wembanyama. The 6-foot-8 forward has taken a major leap this year for the Wizards so far, averaging 17.7 points on .552/.440/.808 shooting splits, 5.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.0 steals.
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