The Warriors really want to ignore last year as Jordan Poole returns

The Golden State Warriors sure are trying to make it seem like everything was wonderful with Jordan Poole ahead of the exiled guard’s first game back at Chase Center on Friday night.

Poole was banished to the NBA’s Siberia (aka, the Washington Wizards) in an offseason trade, sent packing after he struggled for a season in which the Warriors felt they underachieved after winning the NBA title in 2022.

Seemingly everyone currently around Golden State has been saying kind things about Poole before Friday night’s game against the visiting Wizards. Of course, it must be noted that Poole puncher Draymond Green is not with the team right now, as he’s serving an indefinite suspension following his third ejection of the season after hitting Phoenix center Jusuf Nurkic in the face. Head coach Steve Kerr has really led the charge, reciting the same message whether on local sports talk radio, in a big exclusive piece or at practice Thursday: Poole’s time in Golden State was a great success.

“I really look at Jordan as a huge success story,” Kerr said at Thursday’s practice. “It doesn’t happen often that the 28th pick works his way up to a key player on a championship team. Life-changing contract, it really couldn’t have gone any better.

“I hate the way it ended. It’s really unfortunate how it all played out. You just wish that things could end in a more positive note and in a more positive way. But it didn’t happen that way.”

Several stories have been written about Poole leading up to his return to the Bay Area. In every one that quoted a former Warriors teammate of Poole’s, the vibe was the same. According to Bay Area News Group, Andrew Wiggins called Poole his “little bro” and heaped praise on him.

“He’s a joy to be around, he’s a little kid always joking around but one of the hardest workers I’ve seen in the NBA,” Wiggins said. “He’s a great kid, great human and he’s going to do great things.”

The Athletic’s Anthony Slater dropped a deep dive on Poole’s return that quoted several Warriors giving their best Poole memories. Steph Curry especially remembered the half-court shots, while Kevon Looney highlighted Poole’s play to start the 2022 playoffs. Klay Thompson looked back fondly at the whole run. 

“We would not have won a championship in ’22 without him,” Thompson said. “Simple as that. So I hope Dub Nation shows him the right ovation on Friday night.”

In this week’s piece in The Athletic, Looney gave credit to Poole for being “professional” with Green during the season. Curry also addressed the punch, though his answer gave the team a lot more grace than they probably deserve for the bungled situation. 

“Unless you were in this building, you can always talk about what could’ve been punishment-wise,” Curry said to The Athletic. “But unless you were in here, having these conversations daily and everything that we tried to keep in the house that then got out, it made everything a lot more complicated. We obviously will be scrutinized for whatever happens. We did the best we could with a very hard situation. Between them two, that’s whatever it’s going to be between them two.”

We won’t get to see what is “between them two,” as Curry put it, on Friday, thanks to Green’s suspension. Poole has consistently declined to address what happened, including earlier this week in Sacramento, but multiple pieces on the homecoming have made note that Green’s absence is expected to ease some lingering tension over the return.

If anything, Green’s absence should only raise the irony factor in Golden State’s leadership — from Curry and Kerr to new general manager Mike Dunleavy and owner Joe Lacob — choosing Green over Poole, both immediately after the punch and in the summer when they traded Poole. Less than 16 months after the punch that derailed their title-defending season, and six months after making Poole the scapegoat, Green is once again away for the team due to his violent outbursts on the court.

But the Warriors seem to be hoping that their fans remember the good times, the 2022 title, and ignore all of that other stuff. 

“It was unfortunate what happened because he helped us raise a banner,” Thompson said to The Athletic. “But at the end of the day, time heals all wounds, and Dub Nation will be forever grateful for the Poole Party. I know I will.”