Things are not going according to plan for Warriors rookie Jordan Poole.
Over the last 11 games, the No. 28 overall pick in the 2019 draft is shooting 25 percent overall and just below 17 percent from 3-point territory.
"It's about getting bigger, getting stronger. He's only 20," Golden State coach Steve Kerr said Thursday evening on KNBR 680. "Figuring out his role. To me, he's gotta be sort of a JJ Redick, Landry Shamet type guy -- flying off screens and really making the defense pay for going under screens.
"Not a guy who is going to run a ton of high screen-and-roll with the ball in his hands. What that means is a lot of work -- both on the court and in film. But you can only really get it through experience, and that's what he's getting right now."
So basically, Kerr wants to see Poole do stuff like this:
Jordan Poole misses the 3, but this is terrific off-the-ball movement and footwork/preparation for a 20-year-old rookie pic.twitter.com/LKjosG5nS6— Drew Shiller (@DrewShiller) October 11, 2019
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Jordan Poole = fun stuff pic.twitter.com/laD7Smvphl— Drew Shiller (@DrewShiller) November 2, 2019
The most frustrating thing for the rookie right now is that he's missing really good looks:
Poole is shooting 22.9 percent (11-for-48) on "open" 3s, and 26.5 percent (9-for-34) on "wide open" 3s.
So while he has forced some tough looks, it's not like he's constantly taking bad shots.
He's just going through a tough stretch and doesn't have the ability to take a deep breath.
[RELATED: Welts in awe of Warriors' rookie second-round pick Paschall]
"One of the things I told Jordan is a year ago, Jacob Evans was the same pick and Jacob hardly ever played because he was on a veteran team," Kerr said. "And in some ways that was a luxury because Jacob was able to learn and go to Santa Cruz and play, and learn at his own pace without people talking about him on talk radio in the evenings ..."
Poole, meanwhile, is playing 26.5 minutes per night and has started nine games already.
Hopefully, for the shooting guard and the Warriors, the hard work starts paying off.
