It has been a rough, yet eye-opening season for Washington Wizards guard, Jordan Poole. His first few months in the nation’s capital have been what most would call humbling. Poole was recently benched, which is a major hit to the ego of any player. On Sunday, Poole broke out with a huge game, scoring a season-high 31 points. After the game, it looked and sounded like the totality of the season had finally struck a chord with Poole.

“I really want to go and play well each and every night for the fans. It’s been a season, but it’s gonna come.”

Despite Poole’s efforts, the Wizards lost again, 114-105, to the Cavs. But it was nice to see Poole playing like the guy Washington acquired from Golden State. Poole looked defeated (after another loss) and humbled during the post-game presser as if the effects of this campaign were finally dawning on him. Hopefully, Poole’s realizing that what’s happened has been brought on by him.

All the criticism, the benching and even the trade that landed him in Washington. Poole wasn’t happy playing his role with the Warriors and that ultimately got him shipped out. Bumping his gums got his teeth pressed up against ‘em. All the hubris we’ve seen from Poole over the past couple of years has led to this point. Maybe being sat down and forced to come off the bench for the worst team in the NBA finally got Mr. Poole’s attention.

No one questions Poole’s talent, but he’d gotten a little too big for his britches. That’s what elders once said about kids acting out of pocket. Maybe he’ll be a new person moving forward or Poole could eventually go back into the starting lineup and fall right back into his old ways. It seems unlikely that he’ll ride the bench for the remainder of the year.

With the proper influence, Poole can still be one of the better-scoring threats in the league. The Wizards just don’t have a lot of depth (or structure) surrounding Poole and Kyle Kuzma right now, so winning games is tough. There were rumors before the trade deadline earlier this month that the organization was already looking to move off Poole. Hell, they’d barely made it through the first month of the season before trade rumors began involving him.

Poole made it past the deadline, but unless a lot changes on the court and with his attitude, the Poole party could be located somewhere else next season. And Kuzma may be on the midnight train outta D.C. along with him. But hopefully, Poole’s learned and taken stock of the error of his ways.