The 2022-23 NBA season was not the title defense year that the Golden State Warriors would have had in their minds. It started off well, but a punch during the training camp derailed things. After that, it seemed like the defending champions could never truly recover. Andrew Wiggins spoke out about the same recently in a post-practice interview, uploaded by Warriors on NBCS, where he defended his ‘best friend’ Jordan Poole. The topic in question was the lack of chemistry shown by the Dubs last season.
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The infamous punch not only hurt Jordan Poole, but the entire team. Draymond Green lost the trust of the guys in the locker room and had to spend the entire season rebuilding it. JP was offered a 4-year, $128,000,000 deal not long after the punch, but before that contract could kick in, the Warriors shipped him to Washington. Even though JP is 2818.6 miles away, he still somehow finds his name being brought up by the Dubs reporters.
Andrew Wiggins shelters Jordan Poole against blame for lack of chemistry
The 2022-23 season threw everything it could at the Warriors. We faced team drama, continuous injuries, long absences, and more. Wiggins was out for nearly two months after the All-Star Break. Stephen Curry faced multiple injury patches. After going through all of that, when the reporter tried to blame the lack of chemistry on Jordan Poole, Wiggins could not deal with the same. He said,
“I don’t think it was Jordan[Poole]’s fault for lack of team being connected. It was a bunch of things, and I wasn’t there for a long time. Would like to think that I’m one of the key parts of the team, defensively, offensively, helping the team out every way that I can. Hopefully this year everyone can stay healthy, stay on the same page, and we’ll have a great year!”
“I don’t think it was Jordan’s fault.”
Andrew Wiggins doesn’t blame Jordan Poole for the Warriors’ lack of chemistry last season pic.twitter.com/2F65WEXK4e
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) October 4, 2023
Last season was a tough one for Andrew Wiggins personally. He faced a family emergency that required all of his attention, and had to return home for the same. However, during that time, nasty cheating rumors came out. Clearly, none of the rumors were true, but they affected Wiggins at a time when he needed his community the most. Despite all of that, he still looked back and defended his ‘best friend’ Jordan Poole against the vicious reporters.
Wiggins took a pay-cut for Poole
It’s no secret that Andrew Wiggins and J0rdan Poole were close with each other. Both of them joined the Warriors during the 2019-20 season and saw the team work from being the worst in the NBA to winning a championship in a span of 2 years. After the championship season ended in 2022, both Poole and Wiggins were eligible for contract extensions. While both were hoping to secure the bag, it meant a greater deal to Poole, who would have been getting his first taste at a contract negotiation.
Wiggins, who had already signed multiple max deals during his time in the NBA, agreed to a 4-year, $109 Million deal. On the other hand, the paycut Wiggins took helped the Warriors pay Poole while avoiding the tax penalties. This helped Poole land a 4-year, $128 Million contract. It’s just another testament to the incredible friendship these two players share with each other.
Even though Poole may not be on the team anymore, it still doesn’t mean that Wiggins would let people portray his friend in a negative light. This kind of camaraderie is rare to find, and hopefully, they stay close for a very long time.
