Ain’t no party like a west coast party, cause a west coast party don’t stop.
Welcome back, Razzball Nation, to your Underperformer of the Week digest.
It has been only a few weeks in our beloved NBA but there has been no shortage of storylines on and off the court that have us rubbernecking trying to keep up with all of the drama unfolding. While this and that have been happening, the one thing that seems to remain a constant is there always seems to be a player underwhelming us enough to extract some value moving forward for the savviest of GM’s.
Timing is everything when it comes to plucking an underperforming player from another manager. They likely see value in a similar way that you do but the difference is, they have had to endure lower than expected production longer than you, and their belief in a turnaround may be waning.
We travel to the Golden State to find this week’s player, who has yet to reach expectations this season but the potential for a breakout hovers closely, and now might be the time to make your move.
Jump in, the water is fine. Well, actually, the water is more on the frigid side at this Poole Party.
Last season’s late-round darling and early-season Draymond Greenpunching bag has not experienced quite the same level of success he did in his breakout campaign. Yes, Klay is back fulltime but he is not lighting the league ablaze with his play and it is more likely that we have seen the best version of this Splash Bro four or more seasons ago.
Steph Curry is gonna do what Steph Curry is gonna do, and did exactly that last season when Poole broke free, so he is also not getting in his way. Draymond is a puncher, not a scorer, so he too is not impeding Poole’s progress.
So, what exactly is the problem?
Well, over the last week the shooting has been straight up gross: 29.5% from the field on 11 attempts and 73.3% from the line, averaging 10.5 points and 1.3 threes. Those categories were Poole’s strong points from last season and helped boost his value to a top 70 finish on Yahoo. Over the past two weeks however, he has been the 156th ranked player and over the past week, the 299th ranked player. Barely rosterable.
Enter, opportunity.
Last season, we saw Poole put up averages of: 44.8% FG, 92.5% FT, 2.8 three’s and 18.5 points per game, all criminally lower than what he is posting right now.
His assists are still within range at 4.0 per game, which indicates he is still a part of the offense from a usage standpoint; it is just that his shot is not falling. He is also taking close to the same number of shots as last season, which reinforces the fact that he is being relied upon in the same way as last season and is simply in a dismal shooting slump. In his next game he could hit six threes and the buy low window will slam shut.
Float out some offers if you have a Klay Thompson on your team and see if you can get Poole in exchange, as I am confident Poole will be the better player by seasons end.
The clock is ticking, and it will be a summertime style Poole Party before long, so make sure you are invited.
As always, hit me up in the comments and good luck out there.
Peace.
