The Washington Wizards enter Monday night's matchup against the Charlotte Hornets looking to ignite a two-game winning streak after their win against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday.
Despite having a road matchup in Charlotte to start the week off, the buzz around the Wizards continues to be centered around the upcoming NBA trade deadline as the team has plenty of decisions to make on their roster in the coming days.
Of the names that could be moved ahead of Thursday's deadline is Kyle Kuzma, Jonas Valanciunas, Malcolm Brogdon and even Jordan Poole. And while some players like Kuzma and Valanciunas are more likely to be dealt than Poole, the guard's update game status ahead of the showdown against the Hornets has seemingly sparked controversy on social media.
Jordan Poole's game status sparks buzz ahead of Monday's battle
The Wizards announced that Jordan Poole has been downgraded to questionable ahead of the team's matchup against the Hornets on Monday due to a "non-Covid illness."
Update: Jordan Poole (non-Covid illness) is now questionable for tonight's matchup. https://t.co/12qlJTEeak
— Washington Wizards (@WashWizards) February 3, 2025
And while the Michigan product very well could just be dealing with an illness, with the trade deadline looming, everybody seems to be on edge about the possibility that the Wizards could make a move at any second.
Whether that's fans hoping for Washington to offload Poole ahead of the deadline, or fans hoping for the guard to remain with the Wizards past the deadline, it's clear that the flurry of moves over the weekend have the fans of the league on edge when any player is listed as questionable.
Nonetheless, if the Wizards hope to find a way to knock off the Hornets, they'll need to silence the noise in order to put their focus on stacking wins in what has been a more than challenging season in year one of the team's rebuild.
However, if the team is indeed set to move on from multiple players ahead of the deadline, it feels like it would make more sense to move a player like Kuzma sooner than later considering the forward put together one of the best performances of the season on Saturday against the Timberwolves.
For Poole, a move to offload the guard's contract would allow for the Wizards to escape some financial restrictions in the future that the 25-year-old's lucrative contract could bring. However, at 25, the young playmaker has yet to hit his prime and if he is ever able to put it all together, it seems like the one place he could do it is in Washington.
For now though, the focus will remain on the Wizards matchup against the Hornets and their remaining schedule until a move is made.