The Golden State Warriors will take on a new look next season with the arrival of Chris Paul, who was traded for Jordan Poole in a deal with the Washington Wizards.
While Paul brings with him plenty of veteran experience as one of the best point guards of his generation, Warriors sharpshooter Klay Thompson says seeing the 24-year-old leave town was a tough move to stomach, after seeing Poole grind his way from the G League to becoming a key cog in a title-winning team.
"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," Thompson said on a recent episode of "Podcast P with Paul George."
Poole, who blossomed into the third 'Splash Brother' during his tenure in The Bay, played a pivotal role in helping the Warriors win the 2022 NBA championship, averaging 17 points on shot 39.1 percent from the 3-point line in the playoffs, providing crucial scoring to help the Warriors win their fourth title in eight years.
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"Jordan is forever going to be cherished in the Warriors' lore just for what he did and [helping] bring us back to where we needed to go," Thompson said. "And I know he's going to do great things in Washington."
After largely being used off the bench in his first two seasons, in between stints with the Santa Cruz Warriors, Poole nailed down the starting shooting guard job in 2021-22, with Thompson crediting his work ethic, adding that Poole reminded him of his younger self.
"I saw him put the work in, I saw him go 2-for-15 in a game but then he would be in the dungeon, which we call our practice facility because there's no windows, getting shots up right after the game and that reminded me of my younger self. I would have a terrible shooting night in Oakland at Oracle, I would drive to the practice facility in downtown Oakland, I would do the same thing my second year," Thompson said.
"To see JP follow that same footing, I'm like, 'Man, this kid's going to be special.' And we wouldn't have won the [2022] championship without him. He was so important to us when Steph [Curry] went down and we played that series against Denver."
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Poole is entering the first season of the four-year, $128 million contract the Warriors rewarded him with following their championship run, but a preseason altercation with Draymond Green, ultimately proved too much to overcome, with Poole's form declining in the 2023 postseason, averaging just 10.3 points on 25.4 percent from the 3-point line.
The former Michigan guard has increased his scoring production in each of his first four seasons in the league and now finds himself as one of the focal points of the Wizards' offense heading into the 2022-23 season and Thompson believes he has the potential to take his game to new heights in D.C.
"He's definitely got All-Star potential," Thompson added.
"You saw it when he made that Finals run. He averaged 18 [points] shooting 50-40-90, that's hard to do. That's impressive. The playoffs, too. So I'm excited to see him and [Kyle Kuzma], those are going to be the swaggiest buckets ever. I'm excited for him; Washington got a good one.
"Future All-Star for sure."