Under Brian Keefe, Jordan Poole begins Year 2 in D.C. in a much better place

WASHINGTON (AP) — Jordan Poole first became a Washington Wizards player in July 2023 as part of a deal that sent Chris Paul to the Golden State Warriors.

To hear teammates and coach tell it, his real arrival came much later.

Poole may have worn the Wizards uniform for all of last season. But the talent that earned him top 10 votes in the NBA’s Most Improved Player polling for two straight years at Golden State only fully resurfaced deep into a difficult 15-win campaign, and after the Wizards parted with former coach Wes Unseld Jr. in favor of Brian Keefe.

“From last year to over the summer to now, I think Jordan is a much different person,” Kyle Kuzma, last year’s Wizards leading scorer, said at Monday’s team media day. “I think that he’s Jordan Poole. I don’t think last year, he necessarily was. He was a little bit quiet, a little bit standoffish.”

One of Keefe’s first focuses after taking over in January was getting Poole into more ball-handling situations, something Poole believes is much more suited to his strengths.

“Being able to get into transition, building confidence into my teammates. It’s something I’ve always been able to do, especially with the ball,” Poole said. “Guys are open, just get them the ball and try to put them in situations to be successful.”

And results suggest both Poole and the Wizards benefitted.

Poole improved his scoring average by about two points and his assists average by about two — without a major increase in turnovers — in the final 40 games coached by Keefe. His five highest scoring games all came in that stretch. Three of his four double-digit assist games came in the final 10 the Wizards played.

Washington’s winning percentage was only fractionally better under Keefe, but in general the performances were more competitive.

While the Wizards have added more players they view as on-ball decision makers this offseason, Keefe confirmed giving Poole that responsibility will again be a focus.

But that alone can’t explain the evolution his teammates have seen, he said.

“Jordan unlocked himself,” Keefe said. “We stylistically gave him the ball. But I just wanted Jordan to be himself. This is a guy who’s already had a great career. I just wanted to remind him that that’s who he is.”

Teammate Corey Kispert suggested it’s as simple as getting used to new surroundings, as well as a new role where he’s expected to take on a larger profile on and off the court. It’s something Kispert hasn’t experienced yet through three NBA seasons playing on his rookie contract.

“You can just tell his blood pressure is a lot lower,” Kispert said. “I couldn’t imagine the kind of stuff he was dealing with his first year here, coming to a brand new team, to a place he’d never been before, and you’re asked to do a host of different things where maybe he didn’t have that role or responsibility with the Warriors. It felt like he was juggling a lot of different stuff.”

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Washington Wizards forward Alex Sarr poses during the NBA basketball team's media day, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Washington Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma poses during the NBA basketball team's media day, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Washington Wizards guard Bub Carrington poses during the NBA basketball team's media day, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Washington Wizards forward Marvin Bagley III poses during the NBA basketball team's media day, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Washington Wizards guard Bilal Coulibaly poses during the NBA basketball team's media day, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Washington Wizards center Jonas Valanciunas poses during the NBA basketball team's media day, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Washington Wizards guard Jordan Poole does a social media spot during the NBA basketball team's media day, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled Monday that more interest rate cuts are in the pipeline but suggested they would occur at a measured pace intended to support a still-healthy economy.

His comments, at a conference of the National Association for Business Economics in Nashville, Tennessee, disappointed the hopes of many investors that the Fed would implement another steep half-point reduction in its key rate before the end of the year. The Fed cut its rate by a larger-than-usual half point earlier this month as it has moved past its inflation fight and pivoted toward supporting the job market.

The broad S&P 500 stock index fell 0.2% in afternoon trading, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.5%.

“We’re looking at it as a process that will play out over some time,” Powell said during a question and answer session, referring to the Fed's interest rate reductions, “not something that we need to go fast on. It’ll depend on the data, the speed at which we actually go.”

At their last meeting Sept. 18, Fed officials reduced their rate to 4.8%, from a two-decade high of 5.3%, and penciled in two more quarter-point rate cuts in November and December. On Monday, Powell said that remains the most likely outcome.

“If the economy performs as expected, that would mean two more cuts this year,” both by a quarter-point, Powell said.

In prepared remarks, Powell said the U.S. economy and hiring are largely healthy and emphasized that the Fed is “recalibrating” its key interest rate, as opposed to cutting rapidly as it would in an emergency.

He also said the rate is headed “to a more neutral stance,” a level that doesn't stimulate or hold back the economy. Fed officials have pegged the so-called “neutral rate” at about 3%, significantly below its current level.

Powell emphasized that the Fed's current goal is to support a largely healthy economy and job market, rather than rescue a struggling economy or prevent a recession.

“Overall, the economy is in solid shape,” Powell said in written remarks. “We intend to use our tools to keep it there.”

Inflation, according to the Fed’s preferred measure, fell to just 2.2% in August, the government reported Friday. Core inflation, which excludes the volatile food and energy categories and typically provides a better read on underlying price trends, ticked up slightly to 2.7%.

The unemployment rate, meanwhile, ticked down last month to 4.2%, from 4.3%, but is still nearly a full percentage point higher than the half-century low of 3.4% it reached last year. Hiring has slowed to an average of just 116,000 jobs a month in the past three month, about half its pace a year ago.

Over time, the Fed’s rate reductions should reduce borrowing costs for consumers and businesses, including lower rates for mortgages, auto loans, and credit cards.

“Our decision ... reflects our growing confidence that, with an appropriate recalibration of our policy stance, strength in the labor market can be maintained in a context of moderate economic growth and inflation moving sustainably down to 2%,” Powell said.

Since the Fed’s rate cut, many policymakers have given speeches and interviews, with some clearly supporting further rapid cuts and others taking a more cautious approach.

Austan Goolsbee, president of the Fed’s Chicago branch, said that the Fed would likely implement “many more rate cuts over the next year.”

Yet Tom Barkin, president of the Richmond Fed, said in an interview with The Associated Press last week, said that he supported reducing the central bank’s key rate “somewhat” but wasn’t prepared to yet cut it all the way to a more neutral setting.

A big reason the Fed is reducing its rate is because hiring has slowed and unemployment has picked up, which threatens to slow the broader economy. The Fed is required by law to seek both stable prices and maximum employment, and Powell and other policymakers have underscored that they are shifting to a dual focus on jobs and inflation, after centering almost exclusively on fighting price increases for nearly three years.

FILE - Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell speaks during a news conference at the Federal Reserve in Washington, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis, File)