Yesterday, while I was at the Wizards practice facility to ask questions to Head Coach Brian Keefe and recently re-signed Corey Kispert, I also had a very interesting Q&A with Wizards starting point guard Jordan Poole. His answer made me think and brought up a great question: What kind of player should Jordan Poole be, and how can the Wizards set him up for success?
The best way for the Wizards to set Poole up for success is to utilize his strengths and build on his weaknesses. His main strength is his ability to score at a high level and use his speed to attack the basket, attack in transition, and collapse opposing defenses to set up shooters and playmakers. Providing more shooting for Poole is a step in the right direction. They re-signed Corey Kispert and drafted Kyshawn George with the 24th pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. Also don’t forget about the number one scoring option Kyle Kuzma and the perfect pick-and-roll partner in Jonas Valanciunas. What about his weaknesses?
While he’s shown more energy and focus on defense, he is still not at the level of a legitimate lockdown defender. How do you help him in this regard? Surround him with more defenders who can defend multiple positions. A big reason why the backcourt of Tyus Jones and Jordan Poole failed was the fact that they were not only an undersized backcourt but they lacked defense. If you look at the backcourt of John Wall and Bradley Beal, Wall was the defender and Beal was the scorer and I think putting a defensive-minded player next to Poole will help him be himself, a high-level scorer.
For long-term success, how do you kill two birds with one stone? Acquire and develop two-way players, and they’ve already started if you look at their recent draftees, Bilal Coulibaly and Alex Sarr. With many two-way stars in the 2025 NBA Draft, the Wizards have a chance to build on their very young foundational core, but will they capitalize? Only time will tell.
