Kevin Garnett Is No Longer Singing the Praises of Jordan Poole
It was only a month ago that NBA legend Kevin Garnett was singing Jordan Poole's praises. But that has quickly changed now that Garnett is seeing the product on the court.
It's no secret that Poole has been struggling in his role with the Washington Wizards. Now that more eyes are on him, he is having a hard time adjusting.
According to Inside the Wizards staff writer Tyrone Montgomery, the Poole experiment isn't working because of his elevated role: "Washington would take a lot of backlash for this decision, but perhaps they should bring Poole off the bench. He played well in that role with the Warriors. He was playing against second string players as he did so and was able to take advantage of that situation."
Last month Garnett had high hopes for Poole: “I look for Jordan Poole to be top five in scoring this year. And if he don’t shoot more than 25 balls, I’ll be shocked. And if he don’t have not one, but a couple 60 balls this year, I will be shocked,” Garnett predicted.
Now that the Wizards are 14 games into the season and Poole already being linked to trade rumors, he doesn't like what he is seeing. On the most recent episode of his podcast, Garnett and former NBA legend Paul Pierce had a real conversation about the reality of the much anticipated Poole Party.
"Are you watching Jordan Poole," Garnett asked Pierce.
"Nah, that's not must watch TV. I thought it was," Pierce responded.
Garnett went on to really lay into Poole: "I'm crushed bro. Bro out here wanting to be everything other than a basketball player."
He also referenced the video that has been circulating on social media of Poole looking distracted during a timeout: "I saw some joint where he was talking to a teammate on the joint. He wasn't looking at the play. That ain't no leader. Ain't nobody on the team listening to you. Ain't nobody hearing you."
That's a swift change of opinion but all in all, it seems that Garnett's response is from a place of disappointment and he expected more from Poole as a leader and player. It's still early so lets wait another month or so to see what Garnett has to say as the season progresses.
READ MORE: Kyle Kuzma and Jordan Poole's Chemistry Is 'Work In Progress'
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