The chatter around Jordan Poole has been mostly about his past and how far he has come in the present day, as he will be crucial in the Warriors' current playoff run.
But what is the status of his future?
The rising star guard was sensational in his playoff debut on Saturday. The NBA world hasn’t stopped talking about JP after he dropped 30 in Golden State’s 123-107 win over the Denver Nuggets in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series.
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SIGN UP HERE Warriors fans -- and basketball fans -- were shocked to learn that Poole wasn’t a finalist for the NBA’s Most Improved Player award after having an explosive breakout season in his third year in the league.
Coach Steve Kerr was also stunned by JP’s snub, but said Poole is focused on the bigger picture of winning a title vs. an individual award.
While the NBA Awards are out of the Warriors’ control, some things are, including what next year’s roster might look like.
The Ringer’s Bill Simmons dipped his toes into the 2022-23 season and weighed in on the conversation.
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“I think if we were doing 24/7 sports talk shows on one of the cable channels, we would debate ‘Coming up, is Steph Curry the third-most important Warrior right now? That’s next,’ because you and I have been on Poole all year,” Simmons told Ryen Russillo on “The Bill Simmons Podcast”. “You might be the only person I know that likes him more than I do. I do see a scenario where he just rips off a month straight of games like the one we saw [Saturday].
"To me, he’s beyond a heat-check guy. They’re in a little trouble with the extension piece with him. They can just roll it over like Phoenix did with [Deandre] Ayton, their luxury tax deal is ridiculous. But I voted for him for Most Improved Player of the Year. I just felt like the leap he made, the shot selection and the stuff he’s doing is so high level. Is somebody going to offer him the max if he got in the market? I don’t know if it would be the max, but it would be in the $100 million range, I think.”
Sure, Poole still needs to prove himself in the playoffs, but the 22-year-old is playing the best basketball of his career.
Poole is going to be eligible for a contract extension this offseason. Reports have emerged that Golden State would look into signing Poole to an extension versus waiting until he becomes a restricted free agent at the end of the 2022-23 season.
If the Warriors do sign the 22-year-old to a multi-year extension in the offseason, it likely won’t be cheap.
But Russillo and Simmons believe the young guard is worth it.
“Yeah, that’s how good I think he is,” Russillo said on the podcast. “Instead of ‘Oh, can Golden State package this, this, this and a pick for [Bradley] Beal?’ and you go ‘I’d just rather have Poole, why am I trading him and [Jonathan] Kuminga or him and Wiseman for the other thing?’ I mean unless it’s absurd, unless it’s another guy like, it’s never going to be Durant in his prime again, but you get my point.”
Simmons agreed, but went even further and said the Warriors should view both Poole and 19-year-old rookie Kuminga as untradeable.
“I would not trade Poole or Kuminga,” Simmons said. “I think they’re off the table if I’m the Warriors. You’re looking at improving your center spot and that’s it, I would not mess with the perimeter.”
First-time All-Star Andrew Wiggins will also be an unrestricted free agent at the same time as Poole hits the market.
Wiggins started the 2021-22 season off strong and earned the All-Star start. But after All-Star Weekend in late February, Wiggins has struggled on the floor.
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Golden State will need to make some important decisions when the time comes.
For now, the squad is just focused on winning their fourth NBA championship in eight years.