Poole brushes off being snubbed
Guard unconcerned with not being a finalist for NBA's Most Improved Player
SAN FRANCISCO >> Jordan Poole didn't have much to say Monday after being left off the list of finalists for this season's Most Improved Player award. The 22-year-old simply dismissed the snub, saying “it is what it is.”
Of course, he “definitely” felt he had more than earned the right to be among the league's top three candidates for the honor, though those spots ultimately went to Cavaliers guard Darius Garland, Grizzlies guard Ja Morant and Spurs guard Dejounte Murray.
“Can't really do too much about it now,” Poole said after shootaround before Game 2 of the Warriors' openinground playoff series against Denver. “I guess it wasn't my decision to make to be honest. I think I did everything I could do.”
Coach Steve Kerr was shocked to hear of Poole's omission from the list; and Andrew Wiggins echoed the sentiment, saying Poole should've been a sure-fire finalist after his “crazy” developmental leap from last season to this.
After spending some time in the G League last season trying to get his footing, Poole has been one of the Warriors' most reliable players this season as he's been tasked with filling in for both Klay Thompson and Steph Curry when they were injured and exceeded expectations.
“Those are large shoes to fill, being in place of Steph Curry, and he fills them better than anyone I've ever seen,” Draymond Green said. “It's pretty amazing what he's been able to do and what he's doing.”
Poole had only one 30-point game last season, but tallied 11 this season, including Saturday in his playoff debut. He was
also one of only five NBA players to have 17-or-more consecutive games with 20plus points this season.
The others on that list? Jayson Tatum, Joel Embiid, Nikola Jokic and Devon Booker.
“JP, his jump was incredible,” Wiggins said. “His numbers speak for itself.”
Green had been actively campaigning over the last month for the third-year guard to be named Most Improved Player. He again expressed support Sunday of the third-year guard before the finalists were officially announced.
““If the award was voted based upon its name then it's a no brainer who's the most improved player,” Green said. “I just fear that these awards sometimes aren't voted on in conjunction with the name.”
Don't get it wrong. Green said he's a big fan of Garland and Morant. But neither are this season's most improved players in his eyes.
“Ja Morant was incredible last year,” he said. “Again, if we're going off the name of the award, it's Jordan Poole. If it's not Jordan Poole, I'm starting a petition on change.org to rename these awards because it's just not accurate.”
Green has yet to follow through with his creation of an online petition. But the Warriors know what they have in Poole even if others don't recognize it.
“I know how much we value Jordan. He has been a rock for us all year,” Kerr said. “You just have to be able to rely on stability in this league and Jordan has become a stabilizer. He's become a guy we can count on for scoring and shot creation every night, and the encouraging thing the other night in Game 1 was his defense was really much improved, and he really followed the game plan and was disciplined, and that's his next step is to do that consistently. But yeah, we're lucky to have JP.
“I'm sure his teammates are telling him that he got the short end of the stick on that one. But there are bigger
fish to fry and he's all in on winning, he understands that's the main thing, but it would have been nice for him to be honored.”
Poole isn't dwelling on the exclusion.
“I did everything I could, but luckily we're still fighting for a championship,” he said. “So that heart burns a little bit better for sure.”
Careful NBA award voters, you might've just awoken a beast.
Less head-scratching, but still disappointing to some fans, was that Draymond Green, an early candidate for Defensive Player of the Year after anchoring the Warriors' league-best defensive
for the first few months, was also left off the award's finalists list.
Kerr said he wasn't as surprised by Green's omission due to the fact the six-time NBA All-Defense and twotime All-NBA player missed three months of the season with an injury.
“Everybody out there knows that he is one of the very best defenders, if not the best defender in the league,” he said. “So unfortunately, he was, his season was cut short and that took him out of the running. I know he would've valued winning that award, he really prides himself on his defense.”