Many fans should reflect on a question: why has the Warriors' competitiveness seriously declined in the past two years? After all, they were still a championship team in 2022. In the past two years, they have even had difficulty making it into the playoffs. So we need to analyze the lineup at that time. Which core players left the team in 2022, leading to the decline of the Warriors' strength? After careful analysis, the most impressive players may be Thompson and Poole.
We must now re-evaluate Poole's role in the Warriors. In 2022, Poole was a very important player during the Warriors' championship run, and could be considered a champion contributor that year. In that year's playoffs, Poole averaged 17 points with a three-point shooting percentage as high as 39% and a field goal percentage as high as 51%. When Curry was off the court, it was Poole who used his individual ability to tear through the defense and score. After he left, the Warriors lost a major attacking point. More importantly, Poole's three-point shooting was very accurate that year in the playoffs, and his playing style on the court was like Curry incarnate.
Poole's performance with the Wizards is becoming increasingly outstanding. This season, his performance has been very stable. In today's game against the Bulls, he personally made 6 three-pointers and scored 22 points. So far this season, he averages 21.8 points with a three-point shooting percentage as high as 41.5%. He is no longer the Poole we remember as an inconsistent three-point shooter. Currently, he has become one of the top shooters beyond the three-point line in the league, averaging 3.7 three-pointers per game. Moreover, his playing style on the court is very similar to Curry's younger days, with both having very agile dribbling, graceful play, quick shots, and ultra-long-distance shooting.
So looking back now, the Warriors' decision to let go of Poole was absolutely something they regret. The management may be regretting it deeply. Because they could have used many means to repair the relationship between Green and Poole. In fact, Curry could also have intervened to help reconcile the two. The Warriors could have handled the conflict in a relatively mild way without directly choosing to give up on one side. If Poole were still on the team, the Warriors might still be a top team in the league, and they would still have the ability to compete for the championship because, apart from Curry, there seems to be no one else in the current Warriors lineup who possesses Poole's creativity and explosiveness on the offensive end, neither Hield nor Schroder.