As the Golden State Warriors have looked forward to next season, all eyes have been on a potential resolution to the lingering Jonathan Kuminga situation, and much speculation has surrounded whether Kuminga will return to the team.

Yet, lost in this shuffle has been young guard Brandin Podziemski, who has taken major steps in his first two years with the team and can not be sidelined the way Kuminga has been if he is going to reach his full potential.

While Kuminga’s disagreements with the coaching staff have been a public affair, Podziemski has stayed silent through the ups and downs in his young career to this point, and, if the Warriors wish for him to be a future cornerstone of the franchise, they are going to need to continue to give him as many opportunities as possible.

Brandin Podziemski must take on a central role this season

In many ways, Golden State’s much-discussed “Two Timelines” approach has failed. Their highest draft pick since 1995, James Wiseman, is on another team and barely hanging on to an NBA roster spot, and their seventh overall pick, Kuminga, seems bound to depart from the team by the end of next season.

Yet, Podziemski, who was the 19th overall pick for the Warriors in 2023, has relatively fluorished so far in his young career, and his apparent readiness to take over the starting shooting guard role for the team is at least one testament to the success of the organization’s player development.

Through two seasons with Golden State, Podziemski has averaged 10.4 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists while shooting 37.8% from 3-point range.

Podziemski has shown immense promise in his first two seasons. However, the problems the Warriors now face with Kuminga are the result of not trusting a young player due to issues with fit and confidence, not allowing the player the opportunities or touches to develop his game to the fullest.

Kuminga certainly has the right to be frustrated with how Golden State has handled him since he came into the league. Podziemski, however, has been given room to fluorish, despite his confidence wavering at times.

Yet, with the Warriors rumored to be interested in a plethora of veteran guards, including De’Anthony Melton and Seth Curry, Podziemski will need to prove himself against stiffer competition in order to keep the starting spot next season.

While Podziemski is prone to have some rough shooting stretches, Golden State must nevertheless allow him as many opportunities as possible this year in order to guide the young guard to his fullest potential. Hopefully they have learned from their mistakes.