NBA Power Rankings 2: Jordan Poole leads breakout candidates

It’s unclear how the Golden State Warriors expect to do this, but they seem adamant that they can compete for a championship and bringing along three lottery picks at the same time. Their commitment to extending the championship window and building a consistent winner is laudable, but it also seems somewhat like a pipe dream.

The question is whether the draft capital used the past two seasons translates into playing time. James Wiseman is a lock to see backup center minutes when he is ready to play. Do Moses Moody and Jonathan Kuminga get regular-season minutes in the rotation? They haven’t in the preseason, although Moody has shown flashes and been deadly with his outside shot. Does Steve Kerr stick to the veterans, or can he dole out some minutes to keep the rookies coming along?

Breakout Player: Jordan Poole. The one young player who will get all the minutes he can handle is Jordan Poole. After being one of the worst players in the league as a rookie, Poole has developed into a fearless offensive weapon who is hitting shots from anywhere – he’s like having a second, not-quite-as-deadly Stephen Curry on the same roster! Poole is averaging 25 points per game in the preseason while playing just 23.4 minutes per game, hitting 4.7 3-pointers on 43.8 percent shooting. Those are bonkers numbers. There might be no player in the entire year I am as confident in for breaking out as Poole. He looks like the real deal.