Jordan Poole took a huge step from year one to year two in his NBA career. Dubs Talk hosts Kendra Andrews and Grant Liffmann talk about how the Warriors will look to count on the young guard next season.
Klay Thompson tore his right Achilles on Nov. 18 and underwent surgery one week later.
Warriors president of basketball operations Bob Myers in late July made it clear that the three-time NBA champion will not be ready for game action when the 2021-22 season begins in mid-October.
So who will start until Klay is ready to make his debut?
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
"My gut reaction is Jordan Poole," Steve Kerr told The Athletic's Tim Kawakami on Wednesday morning. "But that’s without having seen anybody at camp.
"I think he’s got a great chance to start ... obviously, when you make a decision on your starting lineup, you have to look at how that impacts the bench. If I feel like Jordan makes the most sense as our backup point to Steph, there’s a good chance I bring him off the bench and start Damion [Lee] or [Mychal Mulder].
"So I think all of that is up in the air."
Poole over the Warriors' final 36 games last season averaged 14.7 points, 2.4 assists and 2.1 rebounds in 23.5 minutes, while shooting 43.3 percent overall, 35.4 percent from deep and 87 percent from the free throw line.
The No. 28 overall pick from the 2019 draft then recorded 10 points and three assists against the Los Angeles Lakers in Golden State's play-in tournament loss, followed by 19 points and four assists in the Warriors' season-ending loss to the Memphis Grizzlies.
RELATED: Poole details trying to dunk on LeBron in play-in game
Golden State Warriors
Find the latest Golden State Warriors news, highlights, analysis and more with NBC Sports Bay Area and California.
Poole clearly took a leap, and the Warriors need him to elevate his game another level or two next season.
"It’s just great to be thinking about Jordan in those terms," Kerr told Kawakami. "Whereas a year ago we were still unsure with what we had, I think we feel really strongly in Jordan’s ability to impact our team in a lot of different ways."
Follow @DrewShiller on Twitter
