The start of the school year will not be like any other at the Warriors since Jordan Poole is no longer there, and Andre Iguodala still hasn’t decided whether or not to continue his career. “Iggy” is well placed to evoke the complicated season of his former teammate, pushed towards the exit after having cracked Draymond Green in training, then going through the season like a lost soul. The reason ? Perhaps because he never benefited from the freedom of his prestigious teammates, and his enormous contract was not enough for his happiness.
“Jordan wondered why he couldn’t go on the field and be free like them. You know, he doesn’t have four rings, he only has one. He helped us win a match in the final. That’s what he did in Game 5.” recalls Iguodala on JJ Redick’s microphone. “So he comes back and says, ‘No, I showed you everything. Give me a little freedom. And I’m the second scorer on the team. So why should I be the guy who has to stand back?’ “.
Maybe because Poole was a liability to the team on defense, and he never really figured it out. “Iggy” took him under his wing, and he did everything to make him understand that it was essential to defend. Otherwise, he was going to become the laughing stock of the NBA, like JaVale McGee before in the Shaqtin’ A Fool.
Not defending on purpose takes more energy than defending
“I played with JaVale on two different teams,” remembers Iguodala. “I saw his work ethic. I saw him hang on. I saw him dominate matches. I saw his moments where, from the height of his 2m16, his bowls seemed so clumsy that it was funny at the time… But, it was amplified and we forgot the 20 minutes where he had played really well.”
With Poole, it was not clumsiness, but a real desire not to defend! And obviously, that annoys Iguodala.
“Jordan is like a brother to me… But I told him, ‘Brother, I’m about to join the crowd if you go down on purpose one more time and don’t defend.’ And he’s my brother. He knows it, and I love him more than anything. But I’ll tell him, “Jordan, it looks like you’re trying not to defend.” Do you know how much energy it takes to try not to try to defend? It takes less energy to try! »
