Jazz Rumors

Brandin Podziemski‘s name popped up in trade rumors throughout the summer amid speculation that he could be included in a package for a star like Paul George or Lauri Markkanen. However, the Warriors guard received separate assurances from general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. and owner Joe Lacob that the team had no plans to trade him, as he tells Anthony Slater of The Athletic.

According to Podziemski, Dunleavy delivered his message ahead of draft night.

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

Slater hears from team sources that the Warriors received several inquiries from teams willing to make “medium- to high-value” draft pick offers for Podziemski, who made the All-Rookie first team in 2023/24. As for the Markkanen negotiations between Golden State and Utah, they reportedly never got too serious, but Podziemski was considered a top target for the Jazz if they had pursued a deal.

The 21-year-old heard from Lacob while those Markkanen rumors were swirling, as Slater relays.

[RELATED: Joe Lacob Reluctant To Trade Jonathan Kuminga, Brandin Podziemski]

“He told me, ‘You don’t have anything to worry about. You’re a priority here,'” Podziemski said. “I appreciate that, being a rookie and going into my second year, hearing that from such a prestigious organization. It feels good. I’m wanted somewhere. So, I appreciate them. They could keep me in the dark until a trade is done. But Mike and Joe were transparent from the draft to the Paul George situation to the Markkanen situation.”

Here are a few more highlights from Podziemski’s conversation with The Athletic:

• Podziemski knows some fans may question why the Warriors’ front office has been so reluctant to move him if he could help them acquire an established star, but he said he won’t feel increased pressure next season to perform at a high level and justify the team’s belief in him. “I won’t go into games thinking about it,” Podziemski told Slater. “I just know what I’ve done all offseason. I know how much better of a player I’m going to be. Obviously, I have expectations for myself to perform. This is my job. But I don’t think there’s any nervousness to exceed expectations. I’m just going to be me.”
• According to Podziemski, the Warriors have told him they’d like to see him shoot more three-pointers next season after he launched 3.2 attempts per night as a rookie. “They want me to take anywhere (from) eight to 10 per game. That’s what they told me,” he said. “All different types: off dribble handoffs, off ball screens, catch-and-shoot.”
• As Slater points out, among qualified NBA players last season, only 10 averaged more than eight three-point tries per game, and just three (including Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson) reached nine per game. However, Podziemski is confident he can significantly increase his volume from beyond the arc. “The reason they said that is because I’d be watching film last season after every game, and it’s always on there: Missed three-point opportunity that I didn’t take,” he explained. “There were a good two to four each game that I passed up. If you look at that, it’s a good five to seven per game I could’ve got up. Now with Klay being gone, Chris (Paul) being gone, someone is going to have to handle the ball a little bit more. I think I’m more than capable of doing that. Given that, I think it leads me to have more threes.”
• Discussing his involvement in Team USA’s pre-Olympic workouts as a member of the Select Team, Podziemski said he appreciated the opportunity to guard players like Curry and Jrue Holiday in scrimmages, since it helped prepare him for the types of defensive assignments he wants to take on next season: “With Steph out there, you’re not going to have him guard the best guard. So, it’s on me taking that challenge of what Klay used to do. It’s something I want and have that not be the reason (head coach) Steve (Kerr) doesn’t play me, because I can’t guard their best guard.”