‘I’ll just be myself’: Brandin Podziemski discusses Lauri Markkanen transfer rumours, pressure and more

SAN FRANCISCO — As draft night approached, Brandin Podziemski was wrapping up a workout at the Golden State Warriors’ practice facility. The front office is on the second floor above the court. Between staff meetings, general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. came down for a break and spotted Podziemski. He made a revelation in their brief conversation.

“A lot of these other teams are calling about you,” Podziemski told Dunleavy. “They want you, but you’re not going anywhere. You’re ours.”

The Warriors received several mid- to high-value draft pick offers for Podziemski in June, team sources confirmed. The Warriors, however, declined to take the bait. Weeks later, Podziemski’s trade value became a hot topic when it became clear that if the Utah Jazz wanted to move Lauri Markkanen at all, they would need Podziemski as part of the return package.

That was around the same time that Podziemski ran into Warriors owner Joe Lacob. They were both at a Las Vegas Aces game during summer league play and crossed paths during halftime. Lacob, according to Podziemski, told him that he had seen Jazz owner Ryan Smith at dinner the night before and let him know that Podziemski was protected.

“He told me, ‘You don’t have to worry about anything. You’re a priority here,'” Podziemski said. “I appreciate that, as a rookie and in my second year, to hear that from such a prestigious organization. It feels good. I’m wanted somewhere. So I appreciate them.

“They could have kept me in the dark until a trade was made. But Mike and Joe were transparent from the draft to the Paul George situation to the Markkanen situation.”

The Markkanen trade talks between the Warriors and Jazz never came to a head. Perhaps deeper internal debate would have led to a reluctant inclusion of Podziemski … or not. But Markkanen expanded in Utah. He’s off the board. And as the public watches a Warriors team that still seems to lack a second established scorer like George or Markkanen alongside Stephen Curry, there’s been some questioning whether Podziemski should have been protected at all.

As Podziemski recently revealed in a phone call, he sees it.

“From a fan perspective, from a media perspective, there’s a kind of craziness watching the front office,” Podziemski said. “Like, ‘You didn’t make any trades? Do you want to keep Brandin? Why him?’ There’s questions that the public and the media obviously have. I see my share of it. It’s cool, and it’s not. It’s cool to see yourself being appreciated by another organization in the NBA for such a good player like Markkanen. But at the same time, now that the trade didn’t happen, people on social media are looking at it like it’s my fault. I had nothing to do with it. But it’s cool.”

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Podziemski is 21, entering his second NBA season and likely taking a permanent job in Klay Thompson’s old spot, with a growing microscope on his performance. Does he feel added pressure to perform?

“I think for me, everything in life, if you do something well, it comes with good expectations,” Podziemski said. “I mean, I’m not going into games thinking I’m good at it. I just know what I’ve done this whole offseason. I know how much better I’m going to be as a player. Obviously, I have expectations of myself to perform. This is my job. But I don’t think there’s any nervousness about exceeding expectations. I’m just going to be myself.”

Podziemski, who attempted a layup with Sacramento guard De’Aaron Fox defending, had a strong debut season for the Warriors. (Cary Edmondson / USA Today)

Illinois’ coaching staff didn’t believe in Podziemski when he was a freshman in college. He was averaging just 4.3 minutes per game, so he transferred, betting he could become a pro prospect in a smaller pool. He went to Santa Clara and exploded: 19.9 points, 8.8 rebounds and West Coast Conference Player of the Year honors as a sophomore. He’ll enter the NBA Draft mix after the 2022-23 season.

At the draft combine and in team interviews, Podziemski again raised his profile, winning over scouts and skeptics on the field and in conversation. He became an unlikely first-round pick, selected 19th overall by the Warriors.

Even those who praised Golden State’s pick thought Podziemski would need time to translate his impact to the next level. The coaching staff buried him in the rotation early in the season, with the plan being to park him with the G League team in Santa Cruz. But Podziemski wormed his way into the picture through practice, the preseason and his eventual big-league prospects.

By December, Podziemski was starting over Andrew Wiggins — and later Thompson. He had become the Warriors’ best plus/minus performer, a glue in so many of their best lineups. Steve Kerr gave him 26.6 minutes a night.

It’s fair to remain skeptical about Podziemski’s NBA ceiling, especially as a scorer. He rebounds spectacularly for his position and led the NBA in charges drawn. He defends with physicality and cuts, passes and moves well. That alone makes him a winning role player.

“I feel really good about staying in front of my guy,” Podziemski said. “I feel more confident in my defensive ability. Last year I was in a position where sometimes you’re not comfortable, you’re hoping to keep this guy in front of you. Now it’s kind of what I expect. That’s something I want to show in training camp.”

Podziemski and Lacob, however, have “All-Star” as their future path. And that theoretical higher upside is part of why the Warriors have been so hesitant to trade him. Can he get there? And if so, how quickly?

Podziemski has tried to speed up the process this summer, starting with his exit interviews with Kerr and Dunleavy in April.

“A big focus for them was for me to shoot more 3s,” Podziemski said. “I don’t know what I shot, but I shot a pretty good percentage. I just didn’t get enough attempts.”

Podziemski made 38.5 percent of his 3-pointers, but he made only 3.2 per game.

“They want me to take eight to 10 a game. That’s what they told me,” Podziemski said. “All different types: off dribble handoffs, off ball screens, catch-and-shoot.”

The jump from 3.2 attempts per game to about 10 seems overly ambitious. Only 10 players in the league averaged eight or more attempts per game last season. Curry, Dončić and Thompson were the only three to average more than nine attempts per game.

“I think I can get to that number,” Podziemski said. “The reason they said that is because last season I watched film after every game, and it’s always there: Missed 3-point shots that I didn’t take. There were two to four a game that I missed. When you look at that, it’s a good five to seven a game that I could have gotten.

“With Klay gone, and Chris (Paul) gone, somebody’s going to have to handle the ball a little bit more. I think I can do that more than anything. Given that, I think it’s going to give me more 3s.”

What else?

“Taking the hook shot and the floater out of my game,” Podziemski said. “Then implementing jump shots in the paint. Midrange. I went back with my coaches and looked at some missed opportunities where I got in trouble in a big or passed in a midrange and I didn’t feel comfortable taking it. Now I feel like I’ve made that jump.”

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Podziemski was put in a variety of environments this summer to test his growth. Kerr and Team USA invited him to be part of the select team at training camp in Las Vegas. He played point guard for one of the young five-man teams — grouped with Cooper Flagg, Trayce Jackson-Davis, Amen Thompson and Keegan Murray — on that loaded team that eventually won a gold medal. Flagg said he enjoyed playing with Podziemski the most when asked.

Podziemski figures to have more of the ball in his hands next season with the Warriors, so he enjoyed the extra reps at point guard. He also said it was the defensive challenge of guarding Curry and Jrue Holiday that was most helpful that week.

“With Steph there, you’re not going to have him guarding the best guard,” Podziemski said. “So, it’s up to me to take on that challenge that Klay did back in the day. It’s something I want to do and not be the reason Steve doesn’t let me play because I can’t guard their best guard.”

Podziemski translated what he sees as offensive growth into a productive summer league cameo, scoring a combined 37 points in two Las Vegas games and making seven of his 14 3s before the Warriors cut him.

Podziemski then traveled to Paris, enjoyed a few Olympics, and returned to Milwaukee, where he says he’s had some good practice matches with local pros and college players, and feels like the skill aspect of his game has made a bigger leap than it has in the past five years. With a lot of added responsibility and pressure, he’ll have a chance to prove it in his sophomore season.

(Photo: Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)