I probably don’t need to tell you what the overwhelming discourse surrounding the Golden State Warriors has been. It’s been, ironically, about a player who isn’t even employed by the team: Jordan Poole.
Nearly all of the offseason content, discussion, arguments, and stories have been connected to Poole.
Jordan Poole traded for Chris Paul
Warriors never moved past Draymond Green punching Jordan Poole
Jordan Poole’s contract might be the worst or the best in the league
The chemistry in the locker room was irreparably damaged by Jordan Poole’s attitude
Mike Dunleavy Jr. thinks trading Jordan Poole was for the best
Are the Warriors better without Jordan Poole?
And so on and so forth and so on some more.
We’ll probably never access an entirely transparent history of Poole’s time with the Dubs, but we do know some facts. Facts such as:
Green inexcusably-punching Poole played a massive role in the team’s struggles last year.
Poole’s attitude was an obstacle the Warriors felt would take some work to overcome.
If he plays like he did in 2021-22, Poole is on an amazing contract, and if he plays like he did in 2022-23, he’s on a pretty bad one.
Saying “Jordan Poole” elicits a lot of reactions from Warriors fans.
But if you’re willing to dig beyond the catchy headlines, there’s been another big narrative this offseason: NBA players are people, too. They have feelings and emotions that are complex and, as a result, comfortingly simple and relatable. And while we always want to blow things out of proportion and assume that players on rival teams hate each other, reality is usually a bit more refreshing.