Getting ready to offload! Poole is in trouble! The 3-for-3 trade deal has completely fallen through.

Almost forgot there’s still this guy in the NBA...

Poole has been sidelined for 16 straight games due to a left thigh injury. So far this season, he’s appeared in only 7 games, starting 4, averaging 30.3 minutes, scoring 17.3 points, grabbing 1.7 rebounds, dishing out 3.4 assists, and committing 2.1 turnovers per game. His shooting splits are 35.4% field goal, 33.9% three-point, and 96.9% free throw. The Pelicans are currently at the bottom of the Western Conference with a 3-20 record.

It seems the Pelicans really have bad luck. Before joining them, Poole consistently had a high attendance rate each season, as shown below:

During this summer’s offseason, the Pelicans traded CJ McCollum, Olynyk, and a future second-round pick to the Wizards in exchange for Poole, Saddiq Bey, and the 40th pick of this year’s second round. The Pelicans initially viewed Poole as their key perimeter player, but as mentioned, he has ultimately been disappointing.

Recently, reporter Siegel reported thatWith the rise of this year’s 7th overall pick Fels and Murray’s expected return in January, Poole’s role on the Pelicans has suddenly become marginal. He has been put on the trade block to assess his value and is no longer considered part of the team’s long-term plans.

Poole’s current contract runs through the summer of 2027, with a salary of $31.85 million this season and $34.04 million in the final year.This means that after being punched by Draymond Green in the summer of 2022, Poole signed a four-year, $140 million deal with the Warriors that still has two years remaining. This could very well be the last big contract he receives.

It’s not that Poole will retire by the summer of 2027—in fact, he’s only 26 years old now. The problem is that his current performance on the court doesn’t help the team and even holds it back, so naturally, he won’t be able to secure another big contract in the future.

By the way, Poole was once considered the heir to Curry in Golden State. In the 2021-22 season, he helped the team win the championship as a core guard. However, he was too impatient and tried to take the lead before Curry retired, which led to his trade to the Wizards in the summer of 2023. Now it’s clear that without the Warriors’ system, Poole struggles to succeed.

Back to the point, which team is interested in poaching Poole from the Pelicans? It seems like no one is showing any interest.