Some players are traded, some are released, others are relegated to the end of the bench. Jordan Poole was banished.
There was no ill intent on the part of the Golden State Warriors when they sent Poole to Washington in the Chris Paul deal, but the enigmatic young guard couldn’t have landed in a more dubious NBA spot. The notion that he somehow “haunts” the Warriors is completely off the table.
All the Wizards have to show over the last five years is a first-round playoff appearance in 2021, not even managing a .500 season. And here’s what’s really amazing: This franchise hasn’t competed in a conference finals series since 1979, the last time it won as many as 50 games in the regular season. Those were the days of Elvin Hayes, Bob Dandridge and Wes Unseld, whose son, Wes Jr., now coaches the team.
It has been so long that the league had yet to experience Larry Bird, Magic Johnson or the 3-point shot. Mike Dunleavy’s father was a 25-year-old guard for the Houston Rockets, the Warriors had a young Robert Parish on their roster, and Washington’s team was called the Bullets.
The Wizards were terrible last season, but at least they had 20-point plus scorers in Bradley Beal, Kristaps Porzingis and Kyle Kuzma. Now it’s just a wasteland. Beal was traded to Phoenix, Porzingis is headed to Boston and Kuzma declined a player option on his contract, making him one of the more attractive names on the free agent market.
As this is written, it’s conceivable that the Wizards could really start from scratch and trade Poole for some future draft picks, but for heaven’s sake, fans need some reason to attend the games. At his best, Poole is a gifted, electrifying presence with his long-range shooting, two-handed dribbling and explosive moves to the basket.
He also doesn’t pay attention to the defense, falls into streak shooting and – at least last season – had a depressing tendency to make rash decisions at important times. Worse yet, his maturity (or lack thereof) came into question as he never seemed to get over Draymond Green’s preseason punch.
He’s so far out of the Warriors’ vision now that they could go the entire next season without seeing him in a nationally televised game. Rarely has the phrase “out of sight, out of mind” seemed so apt.
Here and there
• The Lakers are not happy about this deal. LeBron James has long wanted to be linked with Paul, one of his closest friends, but LA’s joint effort fell short.
• Paul and Stephen Curry have had some bitter feuds over the years, but they have long been connected to their North Carolina roots. Paul had a history in high school about 75 miles from Charlotte, where the younger Curry knew all about him, and when Steph played at Charlotte Christian School, Paul was tearing up the ACC at Wake Forest. In 2008, they became friends at a summer camp organized by James, which led to the Paul/Curry families spending some time together in the aftermath.
• Longtime NBA player Trevor Ariza said it years ago, and the Warriors hope it still rings true: “Chris Paul is almost like a chess player out there. You just see something before it happens. He manipulates the game to do what he wants it to do.”
• Paul also enters a system that will welcome and cherish his lethal mid-range shooting. It’s just very hard to imagine him speeding around the court in a half-court set, cutting and screening and doing all the things that make the Warriors special. He wasn’t that player in his prime and he certainly won’t be now. But good teams adapt to additional star power, and the Warriors haven’t had such a master of point-guard orchestration since moving to the Bay Area.
• Just make sure Klay Thompson is in the starting lineup, at least until it seems unmanageable. Emotionally hurt by hits to his reputation after the Lakers’ playoff streak, he’s not ready to come off anyone’s bench.
• What a way for Dunleavy Jr. to break into the decision-making game. This is reminiscent of Brian Sabean’s first year as the Giants’ general manager, when he traded the beloved Matt Williams to Cleveland just weeks after taking over in the fall of 1996. Sabean was ridiculed by fans and the media, but that move helped turn around a 68- win disaster for a playoff team the following year.
• An absurd rumor made the rounds on social media this week, and Kendrick Perkins took the bait. “From the reports I’m hearing,” Perkins said on ESPN, “Jonathan Kuminga has had a growth spurt and he’s now 7-foot-2.” Well, not quite. The official word from the Warriors is “6-7, maybe 6-8.”
• James Wiseman must be encouraged by the Detroit Pistons’ selection of 6-foot-7 wing Ausar Thompson in the No. 5 draft slot. With Jalen Duren considered the team’s best center, Wiseman could slide into a power-forward slot, and his run-the-floor speed could be captivating alongside Thompson, Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey. With much to develop in his game, he will have a patient and well-respected coach in Monty Williams.
• So the Phoenix Suns have Beal, Kevin Durant and Devin Booker, and heaven help the opposition if they all get hot at once. I’m just wondering though: Who is the point guard? (It can’t be the flighty Cameron Payne.) Who gets the rebounds? Who defends Nikola Jokic if the never-satisfied Deandre Ayton is traded? Where does the roster go from here, with only six players under contract?
• From this point of view, it will never make sense for the Celtics to trade Marcus Smart for Porzingis. But the three-way deal may be a gift from Memphis. Smart brings toughness and accountability to a disjointed team reeling from Ja Morant’s 25-game suspension. And the Grizzlies have seen the last of Dillon Brooks, who will take his absurd bravado elsewhere in the free agent market.
• Addendum from last week: When we discussed Jokic’s historically unique impact and other game-changing centers, we left out Hakeem Olajuwon, who brought textbook low-post footwork to the center position. He remains the highest standard in that regard.
• Quick baseball note: Nice to see the so-called “sweeper” pitch absorb more ridicule from former players who realize it’s an analytical fallacy. “It’s not a ‘sweeper,’ it’s a slider,” Dave Stewart said on the A’s postgame show Thursday. “I sweep my floors with that thing, I don’t take it to a baseball game. I don’t see any pitcher, in his bullpen between starts, working on throwing a flat breaking ball. When that pitch has no depth to it , it gets hit pretty good. It’s a mistake that’s made, and that thing just stays up in the strike zone.”
Mike Krukow was early on the pitch, calling it a “high school Harry curve,” and Giants broadcast partner Duane Kuiper is equally unimpressed. Contacted by text, Kuiper replied: “I’ve never said ‘sweep’ in my life.”
Bruce Jenkins writes 3-Dot Lounge for the San Francisco Chronicle. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @Bruce_Jenkins1