Steph Curry posting a touching message to Jordan Poole after the Golden State Warriors traded the guard to the Washington Wizards in exchange for NBA legend Chris Paul.
On Thursday, the Warriors and Wizards formally announced their blockbuster trade involving both Poole and Paul from earlier in the offseason. The move came out of nowhere and stunned fans as the Warriors opted to shift Poole, Patrick Baldwin Jr., Ryan Rollins and multiple draft picks to Washington for the veteran point guard.
Poole developed into a fringe starter for the Warriors whose inconsistency grew tiring for head coach Steve Kerr. Selected 28th overall in the 2019 NBA Draft, Poole emerged from the G League to playing a key role as Golden State elongated its dynasty with a fourth championship in eight years in 2022.
The 24-year-old averaged 20.4 points per game as he played in all 82 regular season games in 2022/23, but he struggled immensely during the Warriors’ disappointing playoff run as they were eliminated by LeBron James’ Los Angeles Lakers.
His disappointing displays meant many fans expected the Warriors to move on from Poole after the season concluded - but sending him to Washington in exchange for Paul came as a surprise. Paul was sent to the Wizards as part of the Phoenix Suns’ trade for Bradley Beal, and the Eastern Conference franchise had no need for the guard or his lucrative contract.
Poole will now play out the four-year contract he signed last season as part of a Washington rebuild and Curry has officially said goodbye to his former backcourt partner. The 35-year-old also welcomed Paul to the Bay Area and expressed his excitement at playing alongside the 12-time All-Star.
“Yo so, now that the trade is actually final, I felt like I needed to come on here and just say, JP, how much I appreciated the four years brother,” Curry said in the video posted to Instagram. “You’re a champion. You grew up right in front of everybody’s face in terms of, you know, that first year where it was rough - a lot of injuries, just trying to find your way to going to the G League and coming back and helping us finish 15-5 down the stretch of your second year to us winning a championship your third year and fighting till the end this past year.
“I can’t wait to see your blossom, big fella. I can’t wait to see you shine in your own situation. Just looking forward to competing, obviously with being a fan of everything you become. Good luck to you. CP, I can’t wait to rock with you, brother. It’s going to be different with us on the same thing. Let’s get it! Let’s get it!”
Across his four-year career with the Warriors, Poole averaged 15.8 points to go with 3.4 assists and 2.6 rebounds in 266 regular season games. He averaged his points tally while shooting 42.1 percent from the field.
Meanwhile, Paul played in 59 games for the Suns last season, putting up 13.9 points - on 44.0 percent shooting from the floor - along with 8.9 assists.
