Justin Ford-USA TODAY Sports
Jordan Poole did not make enough splashes and now will be taking a dive south.
The Warriors’ struggling rookie guard will be heading to G League Santa Cruz after Friday night’s game against the Suns, the victim of prolonged poor play and a roster that no longer is quite so shorthanded.
Steve Kerr announced the impending move while being noncommittal about a timeline for the 20-year-old out of Michigan.
“It’s just for an indefinite period,” Kerr said from Chase Center. “It could be for a couple games, it could be for a couple weeks. It just depends on how everything is going up here with us and if we need him or not.
“It’s a good thing. I think he’s played well over the last couple weeks. It’s good to give him shorter bursts. I think it’s a more natural way to develop.”
Poole had been thrust into legitimate NBA action nearly from the opening tip, as injury after injury after injury bumped him up the depth chart. But a first-round pick whose strength has been advertised as shooting has never gotten his shot right, entering Friday shooting 27 percent from the field and 24 percent from 3.
With D’Angelo Russell, Damion Lee and Jacob Evans all healthy — as well as the emergence of Ky Bowman, himself a two-way man — Poole’s playing time has plunged. He did not play in three of the previous eight games and has continued to struggle when he does touch the court. In the span, he’s shooting 21 percent from the field and hasn’t made multiple shots from the field in any game.
“Just a part of his development,” Kerr said. “We thought [sending him to the G League] would be part of it all along. When we drafted him, when we had him this summer, we figured there would be times we put him in the G League. And this seems like a good time to do so.”
As the Warriors provide clarity on Poole, there is little on Bowman and Lee, both with two-way contracts that don’t let them play all season in the NBA without a guaranteed deal. Golden State has not signaled what the team will do.
Lee has 13 days left on his pact, while Bowman has 12.
“It’s sort of complex and not something that we are going to publicly talk about,” Kerr said.