The Bag Boys were in the building on Sunday, about $250 million richer.
A day after their respective four-year contract extensions with the Warriors were announced, Jordan Poole and Andrew Wiggins addressed the media about their newfound security in The Bay.
The champagne-soaked duo famously celebrated in the TD Garden visitor’s locker room following Golden State’s Game 6 victory over the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals. It looked like all fun, but Poole said Sunday he was all business in that moment.
“I haven’t been more serious than I have been when I was telling him that on the IG live,” Poole said. “We knew we were putting ourselves in situations to be successful and try to ink in a long-term deal. But it wouldn’t have been as special if we didn’t win a championship.”
Poole reportedly signed a four-year extension worth $123 million guaranteed and another $17 million in incentives. Wiggins signed on for a team-friendly deal worth $109 million over four additional seasons. Both players are under contract with the Warriors until 2026-27, though Wiggins' final season of his deal comes in the form of a $30.2 million player option.
So when their mutual agent finalized the deals this weekend, Poole and Wiggins were texting congratulations back-and-forth to each other.
“If there's anybody that I got really close to as soon as they came it was Wiggs,” Poole said. “He’s a pretty closed-out person to himself, he’s doing his own thing, he’s in his own vibe. We kinda gained that connection on the court, off the court. We talk all the time."
“That’s my dog,” Wiggins said.
The two friends will be linked by serendipity now, as their contracts were secured at the same time, though Warriors president of basketball operations/general manager Bob Myers said it was a matter of circumstance.
“We didn’t plan on doing 'em on the same day, it just kind of happened that way,” Myers said.
While Poole was drafted No. 28 overall in 2019 ahead of the COVID-shortened season, Wiggins arrived at the 2020 trade deadline from the Minnesota Timberwolves. Both guys have progressed in their own way since joining Golden State.
'I think they’re kinda in the same boat in that they weren’t part of the original championship core,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said.
For Poole, it’s been a steady ascent from his lowly rookie season, when he shot just 33.3 percent from the floor and 27.9 percent from 3-point land.
“Never would have guessed it,” Kerr said. “Frankly, he was lost his rookie year.”
Since then, Poole has evolved into a surefire scorer with a saucy handle, and looks to be on the verge of stardom. He rattled off a 17-game streak of scoring at least 20 points last season and is a top candidate to be Sixth Man of the Year in 2022-23.
Looking further into the future, the Warriors haven’t been hesitant to label him as the cornerstone of the next wave of 23-and-under talent on the squad, also including Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody, James Wiseman, Patrick Baldwin Jr. and Ryan Rollins.
“Being able to say I’m the future is huge,” Poole said. “Just because I get to rally these other guys and still learn from Steph (Curry) and Klay (Thompson) and ask questions and really try to apply everything that they have to continue to add that to the blueprint. We’re here to stay.”
As for Wiggins, he earned his first All-Star bid (thanks to some help from K-Pop stans) and cooled off a bit in the second half last season. But then he turned it up in the playoffs and averaged 18.3 points and 8.8 rebounds per game in the NBA Finals. Wiggins said that will continue to be his focus this season.
“I wanna keep up with the rebounding,” Wiggins said. “Feel like I took a step in the playoffs and just gotta keep doing it.”
Though Wiggins could have secured more money as a free agent next summer, he’s already playing out a max deal and is looking at a bigger picture than just dollar signs.
“You never know what the future holds,” Wiggins said. “I’m happy here. We have the chance to do something special and I believe in what we’re doing here. I believe in our guys, the organization. We got a deal done. I’m happy about it. I have no regrets.”
Poole also addressed getting punched by Draymond Green in a practice last week. He said Draymond was "professional" when giving him a personal apology.
"We plan on handling ourselves that way," Poole said. "We're here to play basketball and everybody in our locker room and on our team knows what it takes to win a championship. We're gonna do that on the court. That's really all I have to say on the matter. We're here to win a championship and keep hanging banners."
