The Golden State Warriors are off to an electric 10-2 start, smashing through expectation to sit half a game behind the Oklahoma City Thunder in second place on the Western Conference standings.
It's opened a major question on whether the Warriors will be more or less likely to explore a trade prior to the February 6 deadline -- does the front office become more aggressive given they look closer to contention than most believed, or do they hesitate on messing with the chemistry, vibes and form that's been so impressive thus far?
The Warriors are expected to be active on the trade market
The answer to that question appears to be the former right now, at least according to ESPN's Tim Bontemps and Brian Windhorst earlier this week. Bontemps stated that "scouts and executives have tabbed Golden State and Houston as the two teams most likely to make a splash."
After trying to acquire both Paul George and Lauri Markkanen during the offseason, the Warriors have retained all of their young talent and future draft picks with the potential of utilizing that in a trade.
Young guard Brandin Podziemski became accustomed to his name in trade talks during the entire Markkanen saga, and he might want to get used to it according to Bontemps.
"It's good Podziemski was able to learn about processing his name coming up in trade conversations this summer -- because it's going to happen again this season," Bontemps said.
Bontemps stopped short of suggesting that Podziemski will be traded, but the fact is that he remains Golden State's most valuable young player despite an indifferent start to the season. Fourth-year forward Jonathan Kuminga could also be involved in discussions, yet his impending free agency means his trade value is hindered somewhat.
Podziemski's shooting hasn't quite come along so far this season, with last year's All-Rookie First Team member having averaged 8.5 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists on 39.6% shooting from the floor and 20% from three-point range.
Despite the shooting issues, Podziemski's remained effective in ranking second on the Warriors in plus-minus behind superstar Stephen Curry. The young guard also provided one of the highlights of the season on Friday when he sensationally saved the ball from going out of bounds and perfectly found a running Kuminga for a dunk all in the one sequence.
Podziemski has been dealing with a broken nose and illness through the first dozen games of this season, and the Warriors reportedly remain very high on the 21-year-old according to Bontemps.