"Worst deals in the NBA": NBA Insider clubs Jordan Poole's contract among the most horrendous

Five-year NBA guard Jordan Poole is playing in his first season with the Washington Wizards after being traded from the Golden State Warriors in the summer. He is being paid $27.4 million this season, something NBA insider Bobby Marks of ESPN said has teams not too high on.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, shared by X account NBACentral, Marks said that from what he had gathered, many teams view the Poole contract as among the worst in the NBA right now.

He said:

"A lot of teams are calling the Jordan Poole contract one of the worst deals in the NBA right now."

The $27.4 million that Jordan Poole is getting this season is part of the four-year, $128-million rookie contract extension he signed with the Warriors in October 2022.

Washington absorbed it when the team acquired him along with other assets, including future draft picks, for veteran guard Chris Paul.

The deal, however, has not panned out as hoped so far for the Wizards (9-45), who have the second-worst record in the NBA this season.

Poole, who was a late first-round pick in the 2019 draft out of Michigan, too, has not played up to par, is posting numbers of 15.6 points, 3.7 assists and 2.4 rebounds in 29.2 minutes. His numbers are well below those he posted in his final year at Golden State last season.

Making matters worse, Washington may have to stick with him for a while since not much interest is out there in the market due to Poole posting underwhelming numbers while being on a huge contract.

Jordan Poole’s high school coach explains players’ struggles

Jordan Poole's struggle to find consistency in his game with the Wizards is something that his former high school coach said is not at all surprising, considering his deep affinity for Golden State.

In explaining Poole's situation, Jim Gosz (via The Mercury News), shared that his former ward continues to reel from the trade that sent him to Washington:

“When Jordan left San Francisco, I think that really tore something out of his heart. I think he’s struggling a bit with the transition. He was so comfortable in Golden State and just loved it out there.

“I know he just loved his teammates [in Golden State], loved the team, loved the organization when he was there. To have him pick up and leave, I don’t care, that is going to have an effect on anybody.”

In four seasons with Golden State, Jordan Poole averaged 15.8 points, 3.4 assists and 2.6 rebounds in 266 games.