How Warriors rookie Jordan Poole hopes he can fill Klay Thompson void

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With Klay Thompson ruled out for at least the first 55 games of this NBA season, the Warriors will need a few players to help shoulder the burden of missing one of the league’s most electric scorers.

In the 2019 NBA Draft, the Warriors seemingly tried to fill that void — at least partially — with the first-round selection of shooting guard Jordan Poole.

Poole was asked Monday at Warriors media day how he expects to be used during his rookie season, and he spoke in-depth about how he sees himself fitting into Golden State’s new-look offense.

“A lot of pin-downs, a lot of stuff off the ball,” Poole said. “Whenever Steph has the ball or D-Lo has the ball, just being able to make shots.”

Thompson has averaged 19.5 points per game over his eight seasons in the NBA, so there will be ample opportunity for Warriors newcomers to help pick up the slack. However, Poole wasn’t quite the same level of shooter from behind the arc as Thompson was during his college years.

[RELATED: Draymond says Dubs can make it back in Finals this season]

While Klay shot just under 40 percent over his three seasons at Washington State, Poole hit 37 percent in two seasons at Michigan.

You’d be hard-pressed to find someone in today’s NBA who can replicate Thompson’s scorching hot shooting streaks on their own, but Poole might just surprise some people in his first season with Golden State.

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