Though he is glad of the Chris Paul acquisition, Klay Thompson still has longing thoughts about Jordan Poole.
In his appearance on Paul George’s “Podcast P,” Thompson reflected on the hardships of the NBA’s business side as Poole is now out of the Golden State Warriors after being with them since 2019.
“To be able to play with someone like Chris (Paul) is an honor, but obviously, it hurts to see Jordan (Poole) go. That’s the nature of the beast that is this business. He is a homegrown,” Thompson said.
Poole served as the centerpiece of the package that the Warriors sent to the Washington Wizards in exchange for Paul.
Thompson has nothing but admiration towards Poole’s work ethic as the two-guard was able to elevate himself from being a project player into one of the most promising ones in the league.
“I saw him go 2-for-15 in a game, but then he would be in the (practice facility) getting shots up right after the game and I’m like ‘Man this kid is going to be special’ and we won’t win a championship without him,” Thompson said.
Poole served as an integral piece to the Golden State’s fourth championship since 2015. For that, the star swingman will always hold that appreciation for him.
Last season, Poole was able to polish a career-best 20.4 points and 4.5 assists for the Warriors. As he is now in Washington, Thompson expects that the 24-year-old will absorb more opportunity and room for growth in order to fulfill his star potential.
Jordan is forever going to be cherished in the Warriors’ lore just for what he did and help us bring back to where we needed to go,” Thompson said. “And I know he’s going to do great things in Washington.
“I’m excited watching him and (Kyle Kuzma). That’s gonna be the swaggiest buckets ever. Washington got a good one (in Poole), future All-Star for sure.”
