NBA Rumors: Warriors' Brandin Podziemski set to draw huge interest as Trade Deadline approaches
Over the summer, budding young star Brandin Podziemski drew quite a bit of attention from teams around the league. While Golden State sought to acquire Lauri Markkanen from the Utah Jazz, it became apparent that a deal wouldn't happen unless the Warriors parted ways with Podziemski.
The team wound up marking the young guard as untouchable, which brought a halt to trade talks. However, one NBA insider believes the Podziemski trade talks will pick back up. In an article for ESPN, Tim Bontemps and Brian Windhorst weighed in on a wide range of topics around the league.
One of the topics discussed was Podziemski's trade value. Given that Steph Curry is playing at an MVP level, and has led the Warriors to a 9-2 start to the season, it's clear that Golden State is in a position to make waves in the West.
With that in mind, Bontemps feels as though we'll likely see Podziemski's name pop up in trade talks later in the year as teams are looking to make deals at the deadline:
"It's good Podziemski was able to learn about processing his name coming up in trade conversations this summer - because it's going to happen again this season. No, that doesn't mean he's going to be traded.
However, with Golden State now 9-2 with Stephen Curry playing like an MVP candidate in perhaps his final true shot at contention, the Warriors' plans between now and February's trade deadline will be closely monitored around the league."
Brandin Podziemski opens up on what it was like being in trade rumors this summer
As a young player, being the subject of widespread trade talks was something new for Brandin Podziemski. While he generated plenty of buzz throughout his rookie season thanks to his 9.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game averages, he then found his name alongside All-Stars during the offseason.
With trade talk between the Warriors and teams like the Utah Jazz and LA Clippers centered around Podziemski, the young guard was further put in the spotlight. In the aforementioned ESPN article, he spoke about what it was like being such a focal point of trade talks:
"You feel the respect and love from [general manager] Mike Dunleavy and [owner] Joe Lacob and our front office and how much they value me after seeing just one year of what I could do.
And it's not like I was being mentioned for another role player, these were All-Stars being talked about. ... To see the Clippers and the Jazz to want me in return, it showed Golden State's value for me to teams around the league."
While a trade didn't materialize this summer, Brandin Podziemski seems likely to wind up in trade talks again before February's trade deadline despite a slight dip in production.
Although his numbers from this season have dipped, given that he showed flashes of brilliance last season, it wouldn't be surprising to see teams try to take a swing on the trade market to add backcourt depth.