“They Were Bad Shots”: Draymond Green Assesses Jordan Poole’s Development from Last Season to Present Day

Jordan Poole put up 24 points, 3 assists, and 3 steals tonight in a losing effort against the Golden State Warriors at Capital One Arena. During the post-game presser, Warriors star Draymond Green was asked to comment on Poole’s development in Washington after his underwhelming showing last season.

Green told reporters that Poole has finally settled into his role with the Wizards. The four-time NBA Champion claimed that JP was forcing shots last season to prove his worth to his new team as somebody who believes he can lead the organization. That prompted the 2022 NBA Champion to take a lot of difficult shots, which actually made him look like a terrible player.

But the guard has now come a long way, attempting high-efficiency shots and being much more patient with his approach to the game. According to Green,

“He’s [Poole] playing a lot better. Last year, he was pressing a lot. He just wanted it to happen so bad. And this year, he’s a lot more settled in… He’s not taking some of the shots that he was taking last year – they were bad shots.” 

Six games is too small a sample size to declare that Poole has drastically improved from last year. But his average of 22.2 points and 5.4 assists per game so far is highly motivating for Wizards fans.

Draymond was genuine with his praise towards Poole. But as expected, there were some words exchanged between the two during the game. They even mockingly pointed at each other after connecting three-pointers in back-to-back plays.

These incidents suggest that the two players haven’t completely mended their relationship since the infamous punch that Dray landed on JP two years ago.