Lester Quiñones was by far the Golden State Warriors' best player in their Summer League opener, tipping off his campaign for a spot on the full-time roster with a bang. Trayce Jackson-Davis didn't play against the Sacramento Kings due to a right hamstring injury, and may not get on the court until the summer Dubs head to Las Vegas later this week.

Those are the takeaways from Monday's game at Golden 1 Center that matter most—certainly not that Golden State fell to Sacramento, or even that Brandin Podziemski struggled in his first taste of competitive NBA action.

The jump from the West Coast Conference to Summer League is huge. Podziemski has barely had time to get to know his teammates, let alone play with them, and clearly dealt with some nerves after a rough opening few minutes to his first time wearing blue and gold. Basketball in July, obviously, is much different than basketball from October to June.

Bottom line: There's simply no reliable predictive power to be gleaned from Summer League. Podziemski's unofficial debut with the Warriors, though, at least provided a glimpse at the on-court traits that will help inform his role with Golden State as a rookie.

All those necessary qualifiers in mind, let's dive into three Brandin Podziemski reactions from the Warriors' 100-94 loss to the Kings at the California Classic.

3 Brandin Podziemski reactions from Warriors' Summer League opener

The physical concerns are real

Podziemski measured over 6'5 in shoes and posted a 39-inch maximum vertical leap at the pre-draft combine, somewhat easing worries about potential physical deficiencies he could face at the next level. Go ahead and forget those measurements for now.

Podziemski simply looked small and slow on the Summer League floor. Unlike other aspects of his game on display in Sacramento, his size and athletic issues won't be mitigated much by playing with better teammates, either.

The former Santa Clara star is never going to play alpha dog for the Warriors like he did in college. The first-round case for Podziemski was always that he'd thrive playing off advantages created by stars, knocking down open jumpers and creating offense for himself and his teammates by attacking tilted defenses.

Golden State put Podziemski in those positions again and again versus the Kings, running him around dribble hand-offs, popping him into open space after ball screens and stationing him one pass away from side pick-and-rolls. All too often, the momentum and separation those actions naturally provide evaporated quickly when Podziemski had the ball in his hands.

 

Podziemski never tried to get all the way to the rim as a driver, settling for difficult high-arching, same-foot floaters. He drained those shots at a high level last season at Santa Clara, and a couple just rimmed out. The problem is that they were the best attempts he could muster, Podziemski unable to zip past or go at shot-blockers after turning the corner nor get enough space from trailing defenders to step back for jumpers.

His lack of burst and twitch was evident when pressured at the point of attack as a primary ball handler, too.

The Warriors were a mess offensively at times in this game. Advantages produced by Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and even Draymond Green will be bigger than any he can exploit this summer.

Still, major questions about how Podziemski's tools would translate to the NBA only loom larger in wake of his pro debut.

Podziemski's high-level feel is, too—on both ends

Podziemski ended up with six assists, and would've finished with 10 or more if his teammates had made a couple more layups and open shots. He has natural court vision, constantly mapping the floor for cracks in the defense he sees coming a blip or two before they materialize.

Podziemski was the best passer on the floor Monday, and it wasn't particularly close.

 

Podziemski already screens and cuts like a Warrior, too, never standing in one place in the halfcourt. His constant activity and lightning-quick processing in that off-ball role should shine in Golden State.

No one thinks Podziemski will be a plus NBA defender. The same lagging length and explosiveness that hinders him offensively figures to wear worse on the other end.

But it's clear that Podziemski won't be a minus on defense because he's not fully committed or unable to grasp advanced team concepts. He was an active, reliable help defender versus Sacramento, on several occasions covering for teammates who missed switches or were beaten backdoor. Podziemski seems bound to soon rank among the league leaders in charges drawn per minute.

This awesome possession—featuring an off-ball switch, on-the-fly low man adjustment and anticipated Eurostep on the drive—is a tidy encapsulation of how Podziemski read Monday's game defensively, thinking one step ahead like he does as a passer.

Podziemski was over-eager as a help defender sometimes, plugging leaks a beat too early only to spring more elsewhere. His contests trailing the play as a primary defender or digging down from the elbow were meek at best. Tasked with guarding Keegan Murray for a few possessions, he was expectedly out-classed.

Still, Podziemski's defensive performance on Monday could prove a harbinger of how he could eventually get by in the NBA—when not in the individual crosshairs of opposing stars and gameplans, at least.

There's more skill development to come

Needless to say, Podziemski won't have the ball nearly as much come the regular season as he will in July. He'll have to find other ways to contribute offensively for Steve Kerr, and movement or volume three-point shooting probably won't be among them.

Podziemski routinely passed up quick looks at catch-and-shoot triples against Sacramento, opting to drive close-outs instead—pretty much always going left. He'll get better launching under that duress going forward, and drained a side-step triple late as the Dubs tried to climb back in the game's last 90 seconds.

This play was drawn up for Podziemski to get a corner three out of a timeout. His fake cut into an exit screen yields enough space to let fly, but Podziemski just isn't comfortable enough—a record scratch into unforced turnover that could get him benched under Kerr.

A quicker release and more viable right hand will come for Podziemski. He also needs to add more craft to his floater game, catching rim-protectors flat-footed with eye manipulation and other subtle feints.

Maybe that skill development, especially the accelerated shot release, comes by the regular season. It'll be tough for Podziemski to crack the Dubs' regular rotation otherwise.