Warriors owner Joe Lacob thinks Brandin Podziemski could be a future All-Star

Warriors owner Joe Lacob thinks Brandin Podziemski could be a future All-Star

Even though he has plenty of interest across the league, the Utah Jazz have remained pretty steadfast on wanting to keep Lauri Markkanen, who’s entering the last year of his four-year, $67.4 million contract, according to Spotrac.

The Warriors have been one of those teams of interest, though Jazz president Danny Ainge reportedly has his sights centered on second-year guard Brandin Podziemski–and plenty of draft capital–should a potential trade develop between the two sides.

“The Jazz are more focused on Brandin Podziemski”@ShamsCharania breaks down a potential Warriors trade with the Jazz for Lauri Markkanen to @WorldWideWob, @Darthamin, and Ryan McDonough at #NBA2kSummerLeague pic.twitter.com/24qnyamEbN

— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) July 16, 2024

Golden State thinks highly of Podziemski, their No. 19 overall selection in the 2023 NBA Draft–like, really highly. Here’s what Warriors owner Joe Lacob said about Podziemski Wednesday night during Golden State’s Summer League game against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

“We think we have a future All-Star,” Lacob said. “[Podziemski] was a revelation, to be quite honest. He was one of the All-Rookie team’s top-5 in the league. He started a whole bunch of games for us. [Head coach Steve Kerr] had trouble getting him off the floor–he had to have him on the floor he was so good. He does so many things well. He’s ultra-confident. He’s got an NBA body to get wherever he wants. He can shoot 3s, drive, pass. What can’t he do?”

"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

As a rookie, the 6-foot-5 guard averaged 9.2 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists, shooting 45.4 percent from the floor and 38.5 percent from 3-point range. Over a per-75-possession basis, his numbers elevate to 12.6 points, 7.9 rebounds and 5.0 assists–very quality numbers for a rookie with just a 15.4 percent usage rate.

He finished top-5 in Rookie of the Year voting and made All-Rookie first team alongside Chet Holmgren, Victor Wembanyama, Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Brandon Miller. He was one of the most impactful Golden State players whenever he was on the floor, drawing an NBA-most 38 charges while helping it outscore opponents by 6.2 points per 100 possessions in non-garbage-time possessions, per Cleaning The Glass.

Stephen Curry says he never imagined a ‘reality’ without Klay Thompson

To Lacob’s point, there wasn’t a lot that Podziemski couldn’t do when he was on the court. He should have an expanded role this upcoming season without Klay Thompson. Though it remains to be seen whether or not will enter the starting lineup with the offseason additions of De’Anthony Melton, Buddy Hield and Kyle Anderson into the mix.

I don’t think the new additions will stunt the growth of Podziemski, which is not something anyone should ideally want to do. Draymond Green said earlier this year that the Warriors’ youth gives them unlimited potential–and who knows what Brandin Podziemski’s potential looks like with more opportunity and additional experience.

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