Kristaps Porzingis has played in just seven games with the Golden State Warriors since he was acquired in a trade with the Atlanta Hawks last month, but he is quickly learning something that Warriors fans already knew about Brandin Podziemski.
On Friday night against the Detroit Pistons, there was an interesting moment at the end of the first quarter. The clock was running down and Podziemski put up a bit of a wild, low-percentage three-point shot that clanked off the rim.
Porzingis can be seen standing wide open and he clearly looks a little annoyed that Podziemski didn’t get him the ball. After the young player put up the shot, Porzingis came over to talk to him and seemed to be supportive but was probably just letting him know he didn’t need to rush the shot and could have passed it.
Warriors fans already know Brandin Podziemski can be a bit of a headache
There may not be a more polarizing player on the Warriors than Podziemski. The 23-year-old does not deserve all of the criticism he gets, but certainly some of it has been earned thanks to comments he’s made that have rubbed fans the wrong way. Saying he wants to be greater than Stephen Curry someday is probably the one that sticks out the most for many fans. The fact that he said Curry’s injury has been a blessing in disguise was yet another “foot in the mouth” moment.
Yet he’s a young player in the NBA and for some guys it takes them longer to mature as both players and as people. Podziemski is still on that journey, so he's going to make mistakes at times as he grows and matures.
Porzingis is realizing all of this in real time. The big man has been forced to play with a lot of young Warriors players because of the mounting injury issues they've faced. Jimmy Butler is done for the season after his ACL tear, Al Horford and Draymond Green have been banged up, and Curry has been out since January with a nagging knee issue.
That’s why it's no surprise that the Warriors have struggled so much recently and why they are trending towards being the last team in the Play-In for the Western Conference.
To make matters worse, Porzingis exited Friday’s game with a back injury and is considered day-to-day. His injury issues have prevented him from playing as much as either he or the Warriors would have liked, and it seems like he may miss even more time now.
Golden State will have a tough decision to make on Porzingis this offseason because on paper he fits perfectly. If the team had a crystal ball and could say with certainly he’d be healthy for 70 games next season, they’d sign up for that immediately. But that would be a miracle and he's yet to take the floor with Curry, meaning a lot is still unknown.
As for Podziemski, he is still trying to find his way as a young player. He’s getting a lot of opportunities with all the injuries and at times he's looked really good, while other times not so much.
The fact that he plays for the Warriors is naturally going to bring more scrutiny, but perhaps as he works through these growing pains, these experiences will make him a better player going forward.