The Washington Wizards offseason has been full of goodbyes quickly followed with Welcome to Washington.
Between the buyouts of Marcus Smart, Richaun Holmes and newly acquired Blake Welsey and the additions of CJ McCollum, Cam Whitmore and Marvin Bagley III.
Not to mention the talented incoming draft class headlined by explosive scorer Tre Johnson who was selected with the No. 6 overall pick by the Wizards in the 2025 NBA Draft.
However, even with the abundance of incoming talent set to join the Wizards for the coming season, it may still prove difficult to replace the absence of Jordan Poole; at least more difficult than the Wizards expected.
Poole found himself as the center point of the trade that brought CJ McCollum to Washington, and while it may not seem like a major loss for the Wizards to replace, that may quickly prove to be the exact opposite.
Sure, Poole may not have been the most efficient scorer or a franchise player that could elevate the Wizards on a nightly basis, but he was the team's leading scorer that served as the focal point of Brian Keefe's offense whenever he was on the floor.
Obviously, the addition of McCollum and Johnson alone will bring plenty of offense to the table, and while the new backcourt pairing brings plenty of offensive upside, what Poole offered offensively may not be getting enough credit.
Maybe the Michigan product was inefficient, and while he did make questionable decisions at time, there were plenty of games in which the Wizards came out on top solely because of Poole's ability to take on the weight of the team's struggles.
And while it's clear why the Wizards moved on from Poole, looking at what his absence in Washington leaves, it could be a tall task for the team to immediately fill in for what he brought to the table.
The Wizards rebuild is the top priority for Washington's front office and that's the way it should be.
Washington has an exciting young core in place and while moving on from Poole was a trade that needed to happen in order to bring in a veteran, open up minutes and position the team for financial flexibility moving forward, the Wizards will quickly learn that what the guard offered was more than they remember.
Regardless, Poole moves on with his change of scenery and New Orleans and the Wizards will continue taking steps towards the future.