Things aren't all right at the Golden State Warriors right now. That much was evident during Tuesday's blowout 126-102 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder at Paycom Center, and perhaps even more so in the aftermath with some very revealing comments.
There's focus on a number of individual players given the Warriors have lost five of their past seven games, including Brandin Podziemski who may now be learning a harsh lesson on how his comments can come back to bite him.
Brandin Podziemski's comments raised eyebrows with the Warriors
Podziemski has always gone public with his aspirations on becoming a star in the league, having done so again just prior to this season when he made the outrageous statement that he wanted to be better than Stephen Curry.
According to ESPN's Anthony Slater in a report following Tuesday's dissapointing defeat, Podziemski's comments "elicited some eyerolls and continued references from several within the organization."
When you combine that with what was said from veterans Draymond Green and Jimmy Butler after Tuesday's result, things start to get troubling. Butler mentioned that the team "have to get back to winning is the main thing and the only thing," while Green referenced the personal agendas that some may harbor.
"I think everyone has a personal agenda in this league," Green said. "But you have to make those personal agendas work within the team confines. If it doesn't work, you kind of got to get rid of your agenda or eventually the agenda is the cause of someone getting rid of you."
Slater mentioned both Kuminga and Podziemski in relation to the word 'agenda', with both young players facing pressure amid underwhelming individual form over recent games, along with what was said on Tuesday night.
However, it may be more in regard to Podziemski given Green has already mentioned the comments previously and warned the third-year guard "don't tell people too much."
Podziemski's numbers aren't bad this season, it's just that they haven't drastically improved in a way he or the Warriors would have hoped. Now his comments could becoming back to bite him not only in regard to fan approval, but more importantly his standing within franchise and the locker room.
If the 22-year-old doesn't start taking major strides, and more notably if Golden State don't get back to winning consistently, the front office may have little choice but to move on and find someone whose only ambition is to help the veteran core back to another deep playoff run.
Such sentiments have often been said about Kuminga and his awkward fit with the team, but now both young players might find themselves on the trade block if the Warriors can't address their current on-court slide and some seemingly growing internal tension.