Jordan Poole’s path back to Golden State feels remote, but it isn’t out of the question. The bigger issue is simple: if the Warriors ever want to seriously entertain a reunion, they may first have to move on from Draymond Green.
That’s the hinge point in this whole conversation. Green is still on the roster, and after everything that unfolded in training camp in 2022, it’s tough to picture the two sharing a locker room again. That episode helped push Poole out of Golden State in the 2023 trade, and the connection between the two still hangs over any talk of a return.
Both players also head into the season with expiring contracts. Green recently returned on the one-year, $27.7 million player option he originally declined, giving the Warriors a little more room to maneuver. Even so, there’s already plenty of chatter that the 36-year-old could become a trade candidate once he’s eligible after waiving his implied no-trade clause.
Poole’s situation is no less complicated. He’s set to make $34 million in the final year of the deal he signed with Golden State, and the New Orleans Pelicans would almost certainly move that money if they could. Some analysts have even floated the idea of an unusual buyout for the 27-year-old.
On a recent Hoop Collective podcast, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst brought up Poole as one of the free agents the Warriors could look at with cap space next year, and Anthony Slater pointed out that Green’s status matters too.
"Draymond's a free agent too, and that's relevant in the Poole conversation," Slater said on the most recent Hoop Collective podcast.
If Golden State does choose to move off Green - either by trading him before February’s deadline or letting him leave in free agency next year - that would be a massive organizational decision for a player entering his 15th season and carrying the kind of stature Green does.
Still, the idea of Poole coming back shouldn’t be brushed off entirely. Even if the Green-Poole angle was partly tongue-in-cheek on the podcast, the Warriors ought to at least think about it if the chance comes up next summer. Unless Poole has a dramatic bounce-back season, he could be available for the taxpayer mid-level exception or even less, which would leave Golden State’s projected cap space largely intact.
There’s also a basketball case here. Poole is still young enough to imagine a reset if the fit is right, especially if he’s used as a sixth man and paid less than $10 million a year instead of being asked to live up to the four-year, $128 million deal that once came with rising-star expectations.
Golden State was justified in moving on from Poole when it did. But the Warriors have also felt the loss of his shot creation at times, including last season when they finished 19th in offensive efficiency.
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