The Golden State Warriors are off to a red-hot start in the 2024-25 season with a 10-2 record and MVP-caliber play from superstar and future Hall of Famer, Steph Curry. They look like a threat in the Western Conference again and sit in second place behind the Oklahoma City Thunder.
All the more reason not to mess with team chemistry by trading away its best young asset, shooting guard Brandin Podziemski.
WHAT A PASS 😱
Brandin Podziemski with one of the craftiest assists this season so far ‼️ pic.twitter.com/2fZgKe5hnN
— ESPN (@espn) November 16, 2024
That does not mean the second-year player will not hear his name in trade talks for the second, consecutive season. Tim Bontemps of ESPN reported that it will happen, though that does not mean a trade will.
Brian Windhorst also of ESPN added, “League executives are well aware that Podziemski is well-liked by Lacob, and the bar to get him out of Golden State remains very high.”
The team is right to set the bar high and would be even more correct not to trade him at all. A season ago, he was deemed “untouchable” in trade discussions, according to Brett Siegel of Clutch Points.
There were flashes in his rookie season when he averaged 26.6 minutes, 9.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 0.8 steals while shooting 45.4 percent from the paint and 38.5 from beyond the arc.
His stats were even better in his G-League appearances, where he averaged 24 points, seven rebounds, and four assists.
His stats are down in every measurable category this season but that can be chalked up to a relatively small sample size of 11 games and less court time.
Even as the numbers are not what they were last season, he has still wowed fans and the front office with his raw ability and skill set, inspiring their trust in him to be a star of the franchise’s future.
"We think we have a future All-Star"
Joe Lacob with high praise for Podz 🤩 pic.twitter.com/FY9QBWscR8
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) July 18, 2024
Sure, some of that confidence in the young player may be posturing, to see what the organization could conceivably get out of another team for him at the deadline.
Bontempts noted, “Scouts and executives have tabbed Golden State and Houston as the two teams most likely to make a splash ahead of the Feb. 6 trade deadline. Both have a combination of young players and draft picks to make deals, whereas most of the other teams expected to be in that mix have one or neither at their disposal after the many big deals made in recent seasons.”
That may be the case, but the Warriors should not be expected to offload Podziemski to bring in a third star to pair with Curry and Draymond Green. They believe in the St. John’s product and at some point, have to look toward the future, even with Curry playing at a high level.
Trading away an asset who could conceivably be a bona fide superstar and All-Star within two or three seasons, for the sake of winning now, is a move the organization could afford to make four years ago when the championship window was very much open when the team had Curry, Green, Klay Thompson, and even Kevin Durant taking up floor time.
That is not the case now and with Jonathan Kuminga not yet developing into the superstar some expected him to be, there needs to be an even greater emphasis on protecting the assets the Warriors have and allowing them to develop.
It starts with Podziemski.
