J-Poole & The Miami Herro Lesson

It's Everything

Somewhere between midnight and dawn, in cold sweat fueled by feverish dreams and the jungle’s humidity, screenshots spun in repetition. The conversation from the night before rung through my skull like a 10-foot gong looped by infinite repeats and the words my girl said just before sleep, “It’s everything.”

Before the season, she had been the only NBA fanatic with more J-Poole stock than I. Even through the late-season struggles, she refused to sell in the hope of a rebirth. But the 500k spent on a date with rapper Ice Spice in the midst of the playoffs was the last straw. It's Everything. You’ve heard the saying—when somebody shows you who they are, believe them. 

I usually write and post articles in the same 24-hour window, but the one prior I sat on for almost a week, adding and subtracting, creating and replacing. Apparently, the choice of a 24-year-old 1-way guard over one Klay Thompson was enough to transform these flu-like symptoms into nightmares. 

The Ice Spice half-a-million-dollar date was a tabloid story I threw in the dustbin as something irreverent—until last night’s hallucinations latched onto J-Poole’s mug shot in the machine spinning like a Vegas slot, jack-potting on repeat, spitting out prescriptions of anyone but his name on the roster. The endless two-way collages of his face and hers cascading across the IG search page stood as a microcosm to the whys of the now infamous Steph Curry stare at the end of Game 6 and Golden States season. It says everything, of who he is and more importantly who he isn't. Jordan Poole isn’t a Warrior. 

Despite his disappointing regular season and pathetic showing in the playoffs, luckily his statistics as a starter in combination with his age make him suitable eye candy for a rebuilding young franchise when dressed with draft diamonds embroidered on his name. On the day of the draft, the rights to the Dubs’ 2023 selection packaged with J-Poole's 28 million + their 2027 and/or the 2029 first-round picks must be exchanged for win-now Warrior-style weapons to maximize the window.

Miami & the Herro Lesson

Miami’s shooting guard Tyler Herro started 67 games for the Heat, averaging 20 points and nearly 38% from distance throughout the regular season. And yet, why does it feel like his exit early in the first game against the Bucks in Round 1 a month ago was the biggest blessing in disguise? We all fall in love with talent, especially perimeter scorers with an excess of tools that can make defenders look foolish. But there is a very small historical sample size of how useful the Anfernee Simmons and Jordan Pooles of the world are when it comes to playoff basketball. 

Both Herro in the bubble and Poole in his first postseason provided plus minutes in the playoffs, but they also provide something else, instability to a rotation. It’s not something only felt by the coaching staff but all the high IQ players on the roster are more than aware of the holes created by a 1-way weapon. It makes their misses infinitely more magnified since they provide nothing else but a scoring punch. This variable becomes exponentially more important in the collective consciousness of a squad when 25+ million in salary are tied to the player’s name. 

Miami has Butler and Bam + guys. The Caleb Martins, Max Strus, and Gabe Vincents of the world take turns stepping up around Butler and Bam to find the 4 Ws required to take a series. None of those 3 have the bag or the bank role of a Tyler Herro, but when they’re on the floor, there is a sureness they provide. None of them are All-NBA defenders either, but they don’t infuse an instability into the equation of a 1-way weapon who gets lost off ball while dreaming of IG thots and Minaj prodigies. 

It’s not hard to imagine if at the deadline a few months back, what could’ve been if Poole + picks would've been utilized for the package LA got with Vanderbilt and Olynyk instead of DLO. Plus, Poole + two picks could’ve pulled in a far more impressive package before his piss-poor playoff performance, but regardless. 

This offseason, on the day of the draft, Golden State must maximize the window. Forget the future repercussions of the repeater tax and embrace the loophole in the new CBA’s trade restrictions that fully begin in 2024. With 3 first, the Warriors can pry away weapons that other teams otherwise might not want to sell but must part with at a premium. The West will be wide open come October. It’s up to Lacob and the front office to redeem their past hesitance to spend their draft equity this season.