NBA News NBA News, Match Reports and Updates
Making sense of Podziemski’s Warriors future amid NBA trade rumors originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Warriors owner Joe Lacob rolled his eyes back and unhinged his jaw. The reaction came from a reminder of Brandin Podziemski’s highly successful rookie year this past season for the Warriors.
“Oh my god, he was a revelation to be quite honest,” Lacob said Wednesday in an interview with NBA TV during the Warriors’ summer league win against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Podziemski was taken No. 19 overall by the Warriors in last year’s NBA draft. The expectation was he would develop in the G League and hopefully earn NBA playing time as the season progressed. He instead slashed expectations and was named First Team All-Rookie.
A brash, hard-nosed guard who didn’t turn 21 years old until late February and received 17 DNPs at Illinois before being a star in his one season at Santa Clara gained the kind of trust from Steve Kerr that rookies simply never do for the Warriors coach.
“He started a whole bunch of games for us,” Lacob continued. “Steve had trouble getting him off the floor. I mean, 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, can get to wherever he wants. He obviously can shoot threes, he can drive, he can pass.”
All that is fine. Lacob said each word with plenty of conviction. Then came the ribbon and bow to top it all off. A quote was given to us all at the quiet time of the offseason.
“I mean, what can’t he do? We are really excited. We think we’ve got a future All-Star, we really do,” Lacob concluded.
Lauri Watch, Day Something.
Lacob wasn’t smiling and spouting about Podziemski simply as leverage in a negotiating tactic between he and Utah Jazz CEO of basketball operations Danny Ainge, who wants your appetizers, a four-course meal and dessert to himself in any trade it appears to acquire star big man Lauri Markkanen.
Kerr couldn’t keep Podziemski off the floor. Podziemski does do a number of things well. The lefty has emphasized being more of a scoring threat and shooter over the summer….
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/making-sense-podziemskis-warriors-future-151923751.html
Author : NBC Sports BayArea
Publish date : 2024-07-18 15:19:23
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
