Will Jordan Poole Be Good or Bad for the Wizards' Future

Go read my last blog before reading this one and before getting angry with me. In that write up I said that I think Jordan Poole has a very good chance at making his first all-star game this season. I think he's a very good player, just remember that when you read this. With that being said, after watching Washington's big preseason win over the Knicks I have some questions regarding Poole's impact on the Wizards' future as an organization.

pc: AP Photo

Let's just get the obvious thing out of the way, Poole had a fantastic individual performance. He finished his day with 41 points while shooting 50% from beyond the arc and 52% from the field. This offensive showcase led the Wizards to a 131-106 victory in their second preseason game of the year. The issue is that somehow, after leading both teams in scoring by a large margin and leading your team to a huge victory, he only had a +2 plus/minus on the day. This means that while Poole was on the floor the Wizards only outscored the Knicks by two points. It's easy to see why this is the case, it's because the Wizard's defense is significantly better with Poole off the floor. He also had four turnovers and only two assists, showing that he has gotten no better as a playmaker during the offseason. However, even with concerns surrounding his defense and playmaking being very present in my mind, those things aren't what I'm most worried about.

The biggest issue I have with Jordan Poole from an organizational perspective is how he will affect his teammates' development. We saw this in the Knicks game, where Poole was so worried about getting his points that he totally ignored his wide open teammates on multiple occasions. Players like Deni Avdija and Bilal Coulibaly weren't able to get the touches they should've gotten because Poole looked them off on almost every play. This is very obvious when you look at the box score and notice how much better the bench players played than the guys who started with Poole. Guys like Mike Muscala, Corey Kispert, and Ryan Rollins had solid nights because they didn't have to spend as much time on the floor with Poole. At the end of the day preseason games are played so that everyone can get back into rhythm before the season starts, something that Poole's teammates weren't given the opportunity to do.

Going forward the organization has to determine what they value the most. You can't just say they should focus on their young players and leave Poole behind, because Poole is still a young player. In a perfect world the 24 year old is able to assimilate into the Wizards' young core, but right now he's clearly the outsider. He may just be a coaching decision away from being a solid team player, and by that I mean getting him involved as a playmaker instead of a scorer. When he was on the Warriors they had to time to test things like this out, but the Wizards have all the time in the world. If the front office and coaching staff are smart they will begin to mold Poole into the player they need him to be. This will ensure that high potential young players like Coulibaly and Avdija are also able to develop the way they need to. If Washington is unable to do this, or unwilling to try, they could destroy their future before it even gets started.

Another massive questions is how the team will play when Kyle Kuzma and Poole share the floor together. Kuzma is in the prime of his career, and is a better overall player than Poole right now, but he's slightly outside of the timeline. Could Kuzma's necessary usage harm Poole's development? Could it further shut out other young players on the team? It just looks like Washington is finding themselves in a very awkward situation, a situation that's going to take serious work from the coaching staff. I don't see a clear path forward for this team where Poole and Kuzma are on the roster, and that may rear it's head come trade season. What's important is that the Wizards don't stunt the growth of their guys, and if that means using Poole and Kuzma in ways they aren't used to then so be it.

My guess is that none of this happens. My guess is that Washington is enchanted by Poole and they want to push him towards an all-star appearance. My guess is they allow Kuzma and Poole to take up all of the possessions and leave their other players out to rot. It's a sad reality, but I just don't trust the Wizards to make smart decisions for the future of their franchise. I hope this isn't the case, but I can't say I'd be very hopeful if I were a Wizards fan.