Many words can be used to sum up Jordan Poole's time with the Warriors, but Kyle Kuzma believes his new Washington Wizards teammate was extremely misunderstood in the Bay.
Kuzma joined the "Some Dude Show" podcast on Wednesday to defend Poole's character and praise the type of leader he has been all offseason.
"[He's] super misunderstood," Kuzma said. "You only know what you know. You can always have that outside-looking-in mentality with things, but for him, you may look at him and see him at Golden State and be like, 'OK, he might be a little immature.' But this dude is one of the most professional athletes I've been around, like actual professional. He's in the gym, that dude works. He works on his body, he's focused.
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"We had two preseason games and we'll call each other after games and just talk about the game. Not many people are really doing that in this era of NBA and also care enough to do those type of things. So he's super misunderstood. He's so talented. Electric. I don't know if you saw what [Kevin Garnett] said but just the showmanship that he has is box office. You want to see somebody dribble like a Harlem Globetrotter then shoot crazy 3s."
The Warriors selected Poole in the first round of the 2019 NBA Draft. He went from a struggling rookie to a key contributor on a championship team before being punched by Draymond Green before the start of last season and then shipped away to the nation's capitol this summer.
Even though things were never fully repaired between Poole and Green, the 24-year-old's former teammates have high expectations for the rising young guard as he embarks on a new journey in Washington, D.C.
Golden State Warriors
And while the punch seemed to be the biggest dent in the team's chemistry last season, rumors about Poole's attitude and immature mentality were connected to the eventual breakup.
Veteran forward Andre Iguodala, who mentored Poole during his four-year Warriors career, kept it real with Poole after he was traded to the Wizards for veteran point guard Chris Paul. The four-time champion told Poole that he had to grow up now that has his "own team," and that being the face of a franchise comes with a lot of responsibility. It's something Poole didn't necessarily have to worry about in Golden State, but with the Wizards, it's a different story.
And so far, he seems to have listened to Iguodala's advice. The two still regularly keep in contact, and Iguodala already has noticed a difference.
"He's already starting to make the right strides," Iguodala said on the "Gil's Arena" podcast back in August. "I've heard about what he's been doing with his teammates. The other day, I was asking him about his teammates, and he knew everything about every one of them. And I'm like 'OK, now we starting off on the right path.'
"He brought them all out to LA. He did! He's leading."
On top of Iguodala or Kuzma's words, Poole let his actions speak for him early with his new team.
Poole went off for 41 points on 10-of-19 shooting in just 27 minutes in the Wizards' 131-106 preseason win over the New York Knicks on Wednesday at Madison Square Garden. He was 6 of 12 from 3-point range and went 15 of 16 from the free-throw line, also grabbing five rebounds, two assists and two steals.
The young guard certainly is excited for a new chapter with a new team in a new city where he hopefully can create his own story and clear up any narratives around him.