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A lack of depth is what most Golden State Warriors fans are worried about after Klay Thompson's departure. It is not often that Stephen Curry needs to step out of the game to manage his fatigue but he still needs a secondary guard to knock down shots when needed. Thankfully, Steve Kerr has developed Brandin Podziemski well enough to act as the proper substitute for the second splash brother. Even Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody could also bring in heavy minutes.
The decline of Klay Thompson's production over the years necessitated the Warriors to adjust properly. Steve Kerr had to demand more from Brandin Podziemski as a result. With Stephen Curry's running mate now permanently gone from the rotation, it looks like the young guard is ready to make a splash. He even made bold declarations about him and Jonathan Kuminga having bigger roles throughout the next season, via Mark Medina of Sportskeeda.
“I'm excited for that. My goal all along has been to be a second star to him or a third star with Jonathan. I know there are a lot of threes off the table now with Klay gone. We're going to have to make that up in some facet. So it has been a big part of my game that I've been working on,” Brandin Podziemski said.
The young member of the Warriors guard has been steadily improving his outside shot and production. Last season, he finished the 82-game regular season campaign by knocking down 38.5% of his three-pointers while attempting 4.9 shots of that variety. All of that added to his total of 9.2 points per contest.
Brandin Podziemski's increased role with the Warriors
With Thompson no longer in the Warriors system, Podziemski will also get to play more minutes. In 2023-24, he was given 26.6 minutes of playing time to thrive. This netted him 5.8 total rebounds alongside 3.7 assists. All of those numbers are likely going to take a big jump due to Kerr being obliged to increase his usage rate such that they are able to fill the void of his production.
The expectation does not just lie on the shoulders of Podziemski. Rather, the second-year player posits that everyone in the Stephen Curry-led squad is also going to take massive leaps in production. He and Trayce Jackson-Davis, for instance, are in the Team USA Select team which could help sharpen their skills for the upcoming campaign.
“I know a bunch of our guys, both our vets and our young guys are not stupid. They see that Klay's gone. So it's an opportunity for a lot of people. I think our guys have been working extremely hard since we've been done in April. I'm excited to see what it looks like in October,” the Warriors guard concluded.
It's never easy to replace the numbers that an All-Star caliber player puts up. But, Steve Kerr knows his way around player development and proper rotations such that a new core of stars arises in the Warriors system. Will they be able to jump on Curry's championship window while it's rapidly closing?
