The Warriors insisted on sending Jordan Poole away last offseason. Unexpectedly, in this year's team, there is a young man who is very similar to Poole's body and style of play, and his name is Kenonez. Why did the Warriors insist on sending Poole away?
The reasons are probably as follows: First, focus on the unity of the locker room. We know that after Boxing Poole, the atmosphere of the Warriors has been tense. Although nominally passable, the instability remains. At that time, the Warriors, the veterans supported Green, and the newcomers also supported Poole. But Curry and Klay have always been on the side of chasing dreams, and when the boss has shown his attitude, Poole can only be the one who leaves.
Secondly, Poole's defensive level is too poor, coupled with a drop in offensive efficiency. Poole was previously known as Curry's best man and showed offensive talent during the Warriors' championship-winning season. But last season's Warriors, due to Poole's multiple mistakes, buried a lot of games that should have been won. On the defensive end, the eyes are defending, and the Warriors want to develop Kuminga and Moody, and Poole, who shares the ball, can only be sent away.
In the end, perhaps it was Cole who discovered that there was another "Poole" on the team, who was the protagonist of this article, Quiñones.
I don't know if any fans have found out that Kerr let Quiñones eat up the playing time that should have belonged to Moses Moody in recent games. Since playing against the 76ers in late January, Kerr has increased Keñones' playing time, sometimes even reaching 25 points higher. The effect is also obvious, the Warriors have won five in a row at one point, and now they are in the play-in zone.
So, who is this Quiñones?
Lester Quiñones, 196 cm tall, born in 1999, is from the Dominican Republic, and is team-mate with Downs in the national team. In the 2022 draft, Quiñones, from the University of Memphis, unfortunately lost. The youngster played two seasons in the NCAA and averaged 10 points per game5 rebounds 12 steals. Prior to that, he signed a two-way contract with the Warriors to play for the Development League.
On March 15 last year, the Santa Cruz Warriors scored a season-high 46 points, along with 12 rebounds, four assists and one steal against the Salt Lake City Stars. He is at home in the Development League, and he is proficient in offensive breaks, counterattacks, and mid-to-long-range shooting. Before halftime, he hit a Curry-style buzzer-beating three-pointer.
In last year's Development League, Quiñones played in 26 games, averaging 21 per game4 points 72 rebounds and 47 assists 07 steals and shot 452% and 35 three-point shooting7%。Quiñones is light, his shots are a bit Poole-like, and most importantly, he's hard enough on the defensive end. He has a certain passing skills, and his shooting ability is not weak, he can also shoot against people, and has the ability to score in a short time.
He was much better than Admiral Joseph. Even better than Klay, if Quiñones were given more time, maybe he could produce the next Poole. However, the Warriors do not have high requirements for him, and before Paul returns, they can smoothly transition Curry's rest time and lead the second team with Kuminga. Cole finally made the right bet that Kenonez would be the Warriors' surprise soldier! Hundreds of spectators