Andre Iguodala says Jordan Poole will have a great future with the Wizards

Last year, the Golden State Warriors and Jordan Poole were hoping to repeat as NBA champions, but it didn’t happen. Instead, they ended up losing to the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Semi-Finals.

Believe it or not, there are a lot of NBA pundits who believe the Washington Wizards’ newly acquired guard Jordan Poole was the cause for it. This was due to his inefficiency both in his shooting performance and his inability to connect with his teammates on passes.

Despite the adversity, most of Jordan Poole’s former teammates have nothing but praise for him

Veteran forward Andre Iguodala came to his defense. In a recent interview on Gilbert Arenas’ Gil’s Arena podcast, Iguodala spoke about the contributions Jordan Poole brought to the Warriors last year.

“He’s going to get to the line,” Iguodala said. “He was the one to get to the line for us. He’s the only one to get to the line for us consistently. People act like he had a bad year. I’m like ‘Okay, a bad year? Like y’all blame him for the year we had last year?’ He averaged 20 and we had no expectation for winning.”

Last year, Poole led the Warriors in free throw attempts with five a game. He even got to the charity stripe in clutch situations as he recorded a total of 15 free throw attempts in clutch moments.

It’s even safe to say last year was his best performance. He averaged a career-high 20 points per game and was the focal point after Stephen Curry went down with a foot injury during a Mar. 16 game against the Boston Celtics.

He even continued to work hard in the playoffs despite Curry averaging 30 points after returning.

“[He’s going to average] 25-plus easy,” Iguodala continued in the interview. “He’s going to get to the line and then at home, you gotta give him a whistle at home. He’s going to average 30 at home. And it’s Chocolate City, you know who’s going to be in the stands. They got all the memes, every time you see a bad chick, he’s going to give you 40. But he’s already starting to make the right strides. Like I’ve heard about what he’s been doing with his teammates.”

Poole has already started to make himself at home. On Jul. 8, he even began expressing interest in making a great future with forwards Kyle Kuzma and Deni Avdija.

It’s well-deserved after what took place with the Warriors. A TMZ video went viral of a violent altercation that took place between Poole and forward Draymond Green during a team practice. Apparently, Poole made some comments which led to Green punching him in the face.

Since then, their relationship was strained, causing friction in the locker room.

But that’s the past and the future is what matters now. Poole’s addition to the Wizards brings more youth to a ball club that was heavy with older players last year. He also brings a great offensive skill set, especially his pull-up 3-point shooting.

Once the season starts, he’ll most likely be inserted into the starting lineup as a shooting guard, joining Tyus Jones, Corey Kispert, Kyle Kuzma, and Deni Avdija. With that group, Jordan Poole will be able to showcase his skills at a high level.