The NBA world is a buzz with LeBron James rumors and speculation after he announced that he will not be returning to the Los Angeles Lakers. The Golden State Warriors are seen as a prominent landing spot, and completing the fantasy of pairing James with Stephen Curry could lead to ramifications for Brandin Podziemski.
The young Warriors guard came into his own last season and grew both as a player and as a person, even if he's still polarizing amongst many fans. If the Warriors do land LeBron that almost certainly means Podziemski will have to compete with James’ son Bronny for playing time in Golden State's backcourt.
Brandin Podziemski should play much more than Bronny James
It hasn’t been expressly stated that James and his son Bronny are a package deal, but one could easily imagine that is a precondition for him joining any team since he basically forced the Lakers into taking him in the NBA Draft two years ago.
Pat Spencer represented Podziemski’s greatest challenge to playing time last season. Spencer got on a roll in the middle of the season and quickly earned favor with head coach Steve Kerr thanks to his energy and the scoring punch he delivered at times.
However, Podziemski clearly became a superior option as the season went on. As he got more opportunities, the young guard proved that he can be a consistent scorer and while his play was far from perfect, it was clear he was trending in the right direction.
If James and his son did join the Warriors, Podziemski should have the upper hand over the 21-year-old Bronny. The younger James is still very unproven and has not been all that effective in his first two NBA seasons.
The younger James would really have to prove that he has stepped up his game if he wanted to get any real playing time with Golden State. So long as Podziemski continues to build upon what he did last season, he should still be a starter or a sixth man on the bench depending on other moves the Warriors make.
No matter what, Podziemski really has a chance to prove the doubters wrong next season, making it a pivotal year for him regardless of who's on the roster and especially if he ends up destined for restricted free agency next summer.
A roster battle between Podziemski and Bronny obviously wouldn’t be the most important development if LeBron joined the Warriors, but it shows how a big move like that can have some huge ramifications for just about everyone on the roster.Â
Add us as a preferred source on Google