Brandin Podziemski's form has been a major talking point for the Golden State Warriors over recent weeks, with the second-year guard yet to take the next step many envisaged heading into the season.
The Warriors need a lift from Podziemski whose points, rebounds and assist numbers are all down from an impressive first season that culminated in All-Rookie First Team honors.
The Warriors decision not to get another point guard is starting to backfire
Part of the issue here is that Golden State put huge and perhaps unwarranted faith in Podziemski throughout the offseason. Placing a high value on him in trade talks and labelling him a future star is one thing, but perhaps the most important aspect was what the Warriors did with their roster.
When franchise legend Klay Thompson signalled his intention to join the Dallas Mavericks, Golden State moved almost immediately to find a replacement in De'Anthony Melton, and within days also added Buddy Hield in the same sign-and-trade that saw Thompson depart.
While Thompson's move may have dominated the headlines, another hall of fame guard also left the Warriors in the form of Chris Paul. Instead of going out and finding another proven veteran point guard to replace the 12x All-Star, Mike Dunleavy Jr. and the front office chose to put their faith in Podziemski as Stephen Curry's backup.
It was blind faith to a degree given we'd never really seen Podziemski truly run an NBA offense before. He'll likely become a very good primary ball-handler and playmaker in time, but the early struggles are predictable for a 21-year-old second-year player who's being asked to backup arguably the greatest point guard of all-time.
This is almost on the front office more than it's on Podziemski. They've put themselves in a spot where he needs to step up because there's really no alternative on the roster -- perhaps the Warriors thought it would be enough to have Podziemski and the secondary ball-handling and playmaking of Melton and Kyle Anderson in a bench unit, but the former is now out for the season and the latter has averaged less than 12 minutes over the last four games.
Golden State's strong 12-4 record affords them time for Podziemski to try and figure it out and turn his form around. Yet if that doesn't happen by early February, and if this team has true desires for a deep playoff run, then the Warrior front office may be forced into looking at a veteran point guard option on the trade market.