The Golden State Warriors are opening the NBA season without Jimmy Butler and with Moses Moody out as well, and Steve Kerr is already asking Brandin Podziemski to carry more of the load. The message is clear: the guard has to grow into a bigger role without drifting outside what the Warriors need from him.
That matters now because Golden State begins the year short-handed, with Kerr trying to keep the group afloat until the roster gets healthier. Podziemski, who averaged a career-high 13.8 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.7 assists last season, is one of the young players Kerr is leaning on to help cover the gap.
Kerr did not sound hesitant about what Podziemski can become. He said the guard is so good in his role and so good at making other people better, and added that Podziemski wants so badly to improve and be great. He also said Podziemski is poised to have a great year, a strong endorsement for a player who had five games with 25-plus points last season.
The catch is that Kerr’s confidence comes with a boundary. He wants Podziemski ambitious and confident, but he also wants him to stay inside the team’s concepts, the same balance the coach has asked of the younger players around him. That is the part of Podziemski’s season that will matter most: not just whether he scores more, but whether he can take on a larger role without losing the structure that makes him useful.
There is also a business question hanging over the basketball one. Podziemski is up for an extension, and if he does not reach one, he will head into restricted free agency. For Golden State, that makes this stretch about more than surviving injuries. It is also a test of how quickly Podziemski can turn Kerr’s trust into a long-term answer.
As the Warriors try to tread water early, Podziemski looks like one of the players who can keep them from slipping. The next step is whether that growth is rewarded now, or whether the No. 2 guard ends up proving his value one possession at a time before the contract side catches up.
