Jordan Poole has been a permanent fixture in the news cycle for the entirety of his team’s second-round playoff series against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Just not for any meaningful on-the-court contributions.
The trend continued on Monday night, following the Golden State Warriors’ Game 4 loss to L.A.
After the outing, reports emerged about Poole being frustrated.
.@KerithBurke describes a tension-filled locker room when Jordan Poole talked to the media pic.twitter.com/VCWpciaq3C
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) May 9, 2023
“The visitors locker room is really cramped, so when that music went off, all of the other players were listening as well,” Warriors insider Kerith Burke reported.
“… It was like all eyes and ears were on Jordan right there, and it just heightened the tension. … I was like, ‘Jordan, we know your work ethic is good. When you feel like you’re in a little bit of a funk — when things don’t seem normal, what’re you doing? Are you getting back in the gym?’
“And he said, ‘Well, my work ethic doesn’t change. My routine doesn’t change. Maybe opportunity changes, but you can only control what you can control.’ So, the frustration very clear coming through from Jordan Poole.”
Poole finished Game 4 with 0 points on 0-of-4 shooting in 10 minutes of action. Over the Warriors’ last three games he has scored 11 total points on 5-of-19 shooting from the field.
This is coming off a first-round series where Poole averaged just 12 points on 33.8 percent shooting from he field and 25.7 percent from three.
Clearly Poole is frustrated, but he seems to only be generating headlines for negative stuff now. It’s either his dissatisfaction with his role on the Warriors or his $500,000 date with Ice Spice.
Nothing positive whatsoever.
KAT and his girl are clearly enjoying the NBA offseason. https://t.co/V5TjOiOy4v
— Game 7 (@game7__) May 9, 2023
Last year, during Golden State’s march to a championship, Poole was often the team’s second-best player. Particularly early on.
This season he has been anything but.
Will Poole and the Warriors be able to find a way to get on the same page in Game 5 against the Lakers? Time will tell.
Related: Steve Kerr Goes Full InfoWarriors After Latest Lakers Win (Video)
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
