Per reporting by Anthony Slater of The Athletic, the Warriors turned down several overtures for Podz.
The Golden State Warriors have been quite adamant this offseason that they are confident in guard Brandin Podziemski to build off his promising rookie campaign. Despite engaging in plenty of trade talks to acquire a second bonafide scorer to pair with Steph Curry, the Dubs refused to part with Podziemski. In a report by Anthony Slater of The Athletic, there was another wrinkle to offseason trade talks around Podz. Per Slater’s reporting, several teams tried to use draft capital to add Podziemski this offseason.
“The Warriors fielded several medium- to high-value draft pick offers for Podziemski in June, team sources confirmed,” wrote Slater. “The Warriors, however, declined to bite. Weeks later, Podziemski’s trade value became a hotter topic when it became clear that the Utah Jazz, if they were to even entertain moving Lauri Markkanen, would need Podziemski as part of the return package.”
While Podziemski was at the center of plenty of rumors around acquiring a more proven piece, the fact that teams without a more proven piece were still angling to add the young guard is another endorsement of his stock around the league. It’s hard to gauge what exactly a “medium- to high-value draft pick” offer entails, especially with a draft class that was considered fairly weak by many experts.
Considering Podziemski was the 19th overall selection and was one of his class’ most productive rookies a first-round pick in the 15-20 range would seem like a conservative gauge for a medium-value offer, with a lottery pick (maybe even cracking the top-10) serving as a “high-value” offer. Nevertheless, barring a three-team deal that brought an All-Star to Golden State, it’s easy to see why those offers were not enticing.
Podziemski told Slater that Warriors’ brass was incredibly communicative with the young guard throughout the offseason. He shared that general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. told him, “‘A lot of these other teams are calling about you. They want you, but you’re not going anywhere. You’re ours.’”
