Former Wolverine shooting guard Jordan Poole was selected by the Golden State Warriors with the No. 28 overall pick in Thursday’s NBA Draft.
The pick received mixed reactions from NBA Draft writers.
• Jonathan Tjarks of the Ringer gave the Warriors an A for the pick of Poole.
“The Warriors learned the right lesson from picking Jacob Evans last season,” Tjarks wrote. “Evans was seen as having a high floor after three seasons at Cincinnati, but he also had a low ceiling and little margin for error at the next level. Poole is the exact opposite. He is one of the most intriguing selections at the end of the first round. He made a somewhat surprising decision to stay in the draft after two seasons at Michigan, where he was more of a secondary option on offense.
“But Poole has more talent than he got to show in college. He’s a great 3-point shooter who can also put the ball on the floor and make plays on the move. The big question for him is his defense, but his well-rounded offensive game should allow him to quickly jump Evans in the pecking order in Golden State. The injury-ravaged Warriors will need a lot from Poole next season. He could be up for it.”
• Gary Parrish of CBSSports.com gave the pick a D.
“This doesn't make sense to me,” Parrish wrote. “With so many upside guys on the board, if you're Golden State, I'd want to get someone with greater upside or someone who can help me next season. I'm not sure Poole's either one of those things.”
“I’m not at all a fan of this one, to be honest, but I’m not surprised,” Vecenie wrote. “They brought Poole in for a late workout this week on Tuesday along with Dylan Windler. I was thinking speculatively that they bought No. 41 from the Hawks earlier on Wednesday to try and grab Poole and take Windler at 28. But when Windler went to Cleveland, it looks like the Warriors decided to pull the trigger.
“This one is just, simply put, a reach for me. Poole has a lot of offensive skill both on and off ball because of his ability to shoot it and handle in pick-and-roll, but he’s an abhorrent defender and doesn’t really read the game well in regard to moving the ball on to teammates. There is a lot of Nick Young in his game in terms of decision-making, but he’s not as athletic as young Nick Young was, which makes me wonder about how this works out. Maybe the maturity of guys like Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, and Andre Iguodala excise some of the poor choices from Poole’s game and he goes on to have a terrific career. But there were probably 20 players I would have taken over him.”
• Jeremy Woo of Sports Illustrated gave the pick of Poole a B-.
“This is a flier for the Warriors, who will hope to take Poole’s talent and turn him into a viable rotation player long-term,” Woo wrote. “He’s a naturally gifted shooter who excelled on the workout circuit but struggled with consistency at Michigan. The Warriors picked up another second-rounder that should allow them to find a player who’s closer to contributing. This is a bit of a surprise, but not altogether a reach for Golden State. If he puts it together, he can help them, but it may not be this season.”
• Ricky O’Donnell of SBNation.com gave the Warriors a C for the pick of Poole.
“Poole is a certified bucket-getter who had an up-and-down sophomore season at Michigan,” O’Donnell wrote. “When he was cooking, Poole had deep range on his jumper and a bag of tricks to create separation both off the dribble. He struggled with consistency in part because he’s prone to taking (and occasionally making) tough shots. Poole will need to learn to impact the game as a playmaker and defender. Otherwise, he’s merely a one-dimensional scorer off difficult looks.”
• Chris Stone of Sporting News gave the Warriors a D.
“The Warriors are just one season removed from "Swaggy P," so they had to go snag "Swaggy Poole" to right the ship,” Stone wrote. “The Michigan sophomore is a prospect who bounced in and out of my top 60 throughout the season, and ultimately, I left him off my final list.
Poole definitely has some offensive talent. He can knock down shots, making 37.0 percent of his college 3-point attempts and shooting 83.1 percent from the foul line. He even has the ability to operate on the ball out of some ball screens. His lack of athleticism may prevent him from doing so in the NBA. He's also an impressively poor defender.
The Warriors could have done better here, especially if they were looking for a player to contribute right away. This is a miss for me.”
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