Jordan Poole is going to be eligible for a contract extension this offseason.
Through most of his third year in the NBA, the conversation centered on potential extension figures of four years and $80 million. Warriors veteran forward Andre Iguodala wants to take it a step further. While speaking with reporters Wednesday, Iguodala argued that Poole is playing himself into the realm of a max contract.
“It’s a duty for me to make people understand how good he is,” Iguodala said. “I don’t even have to do that. I think Monty Williams, the coach for the Phoenix Suns really said it. He’s so dynamic in the different ways he can score. You gotta put a lot of attention on him. How many guys are like that in the NBA, period? How many guys do you have to throw the kitchen sink at, because they can score in so many different ways? Whether it’s catch and shoot, off the dribble, getting to the basket, finishing with his left and right hand, being able to pass the ball. Now he’s figuring out how to draw fouls. It’s not many guys like that.”
Off the top of his head, Iguodala named bona fide NBA stars like Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Devin Booker, James Harden and Trae Young.
Expectations were raised for Poole entering his third season but he shattered those with a late-season run that featured a stretch of 17 straight games scoring at least 20 points per game. In 76 games (51 starts) this season, Poole averaged 18.5 points, 4.0 assists and 2.8 3-pointers made per game. Over the final 20 games (16 starts), those numbers jumped to 25.4 points, 5.5 assists and 4.2 3-pointers made per game.
“In this league, these kids can score a lot, but a guy will have 40 and he won’t score 20 the rest of the year,” Iguodala said. “He’s been very consistent with it, which is what I’m most proudest of. … He’s going to score at this clip at least eight more years. We put a premium on scoring now in this league. So you tell me if he’s a max (player). That’s a max player now, in terms of how they’re setting that bar.”
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According to Spotrac, the max contract the Warriors could offer Poole would be for five years, $184 million. That comes out to a whopping $36.8 million a year, but that might be overshooting Poole at this point in his career. Maybe his next contract in a few years will be of the max variety.
As it stands now, the Warriors already have the league’s most expensive roster, as the luxury tax tips it north of $300 million total. Next season, Golden State is already on the hook for massive deals with Curry ($48.1 million), Klay Thompson ($40.6 million), Andrew Wiggins ($33.6 million) and Draymond Green ($25.8 million).
Given that reality and Poole’s age, some have floated the idea of a Wiggins trade this offseason, but that's a discussion for another time. For now, the Warriors are concerned about making Poole into a two-way player.
“We’re getting him on the defensive end, too,” Iguodala said. “He’s been taking a beating on our constructive criticism, but he’s taking it, which says a lot about a kid from that generation. He’s only 22 or 23 years old? He’s always going to be able to do that. He’s only going to get smarter, he’s a hard worker.”
Poole also has to prove himself in the playoffs, starting with Saturday’s matchup against the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference first round.
