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Before the 2024 offseason went into its doldrums, the Golden State Warriors were one of the most active teams on the trade market as they looked to bolster the team and maximize the remaining elite years of Stephen Curry's career. However, in the end, the Warriors did not budge, deep as they were in trade talks for All-Star forwards Paul George and Lauri Markkanen, instead, choosing to keep youngsters Brandin Podziemski and Jonathan Kuminga.
The Warriors, in particular, are very fond of Podziemski, the 19th overall pick of the 2024 NBA Draft. The Utah Jazz were reportedly asking for Podziemski in any prospective deal for Markkanen, but the Dubs' love for the 21-year-old guard out of Santa Clara outweighed whatever benefits they thought the addition of Markkanen would have had. They made it clear to Podziemski that he was beloved by the higher-ups in the franchise and that he was not going anywhere.
“A lot of these other teams are calling about you. They want you, but you’re not going anywhere. You’re ours,” Podziemski recalled Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy telling him, per Anthony Slater of The Athletic.
This sentiment was echoed by perhaps the most important decision-maker in the Warriors franchise, owner Joe Lacob. According to Brandin Podziemski, even Lacob approached him and told him how important he was to the team.
“He [Joe Lacob] told me, ‘You don’t have anything to worry about. You’re a priority here.' I appreciate that, being a rookie and going into my second year, hearing that from such a prestigious organization. It feels good. I’m wanted somewhere. So, I appreciate them. They could keep me in the dark until a trade is done. But Mike and Joe were transparent from the draft to the Paul George situation to the Markkanen situation,” Podziemski added.
Brandin Podziemski tailed off a bit to end his rookie campaign, but he still received an All-Rookie First Team selection. The Warriors guard averaged 9.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 3.7 assists in his debut season, flashing his smart, all-around game in the process. The next step for the 21-year-old guard is to be a much snappier decision-maker, as well as to be a more aggressive scorer.
Will the Warriors' choice to keep Brandin Podziemski over immediate All-Star help work out in the long run?
Being involved in trade talks is never easy for an NBA player, let alone someone as young as Brandin Podziemski. Podziemski definitely received a crash course in what it means to be involved in this professional basketball business. In fact, he feels as though he's being blamed for the Warriors' inability to bring in All-Star help alongside Stephen Curry.
“Now that the trade didn’t go through, people on social media look at it like it’s my fault. I don’t have anything to do with it. But it’s cool,” Podziemski said. “From a fan perspective, from a media perspective, there is this looking at the front office kind of crazy. Like, ‘You didn’t make any trades? You want to keep Brandin? Why him?’ There are questions that obviously the public and the media has. I see my fair share of it.”
The best revenge Brandin Podziemski can have is to continue to improve and be the best version of himself. And given how promising he looked in his rookie season, perhaps he could be the All-Star the Warriors sorely need to give Curry one last legitimate shot at a championship.
