The Wizards lost their 14th straight game on Saturday night.
Despite the bad losing streak, the team remains in high spirits. The plan of player development and building through the draft can be a long and frustrating one. Jordan Poole has notably stepped up as a vocal leader through this rebuild process.
Poole’s Perspective
After the Wizards’ loss to the Clippers on Friday night, Josh Robbins of the Athletic asked Poole how the vets keep the young players motivated to learn and grow.
“My first year in the league, we were trash. Probably the worst team or second worst in the league, so to see that, then see the other side where you’re competing night in and night out. Trying to be a play-in team, then a championship-caliber team…it’s what comes with the league.”
In Poole’s first season with the Warriors, they only won 15 games. In his second season, they were fighting to get in the Playoffs, losing in the Play-In Tournament. They worked their way up to become the 2022 champions. Poole got to experience the full spectrum of NBA success in just a short period. Back at the bottom, this is a feeling all too familiar.
The Wizards are currently shooting 32% on the season from the 3-point line, which ranks 28th in the league. Poole said that he told the shooters to keep shooting. He mentioned that “it is a blessing that the team is learning in real-time.” They are working towards becoming more consistent on that part of the offense.
Poole also mentioned he was reading a stat about James Harden in his prime. The stat was that Harden had a stretch where he shot 1-20 from range but nobody talks about that. Stuff like that will be forgotten when the team starts winning and producing more. But for the Wizards to get that recognition, they need to start showing more signs of development and improvement.
The young players have all shown flashes during the season. The core four of Bub Carrington, Bilal Coulibaly, Kyshawn George, and Alex Sarr all have huge upsides. With the upcoming talent in this year’s draft, this team can prime itself to be a future contender. Now is the time to build good habits and a growth mindset.
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