In yesterday's interview, Podzemski expressed his ambitions for the new season, considering himself the future successor of the Warriors and even hoping to become the team's leading All-Star in three or four years. Although these words show his ambition, they also seem a little too idealistic in reality. As a rookie, especially after not being a regular in his second season, it does feel a bit grandiose to publicly declare that he will succeed Curry and Green in the leadership role.
Looking back at Podzemski's performance last season, he had some opportunities in the Warriors' backcourt rotation, but more as a "tinker" and played a versatile role in the team's system. While his three-point shooting percentage looks good at 38.5 percent, that's largely due to the Splash Brothers drawing a lot of defensive attention, creating more open opportunities for him. However, his overall offensive output was not ideal, with three-point shots and shots ranked outside the top 130 in the league, showing that he was unable to effectively carry the scoring load in crunch time.
Podzemski's offensive efficiency is also underwhelming, with a true shooting percentage of just 54 percent, which ranks 213th in the league. His shooting distribution was mostly average, and he didn't show a particular advantage in any area. Despite his upswing in pre-season, his performance as a whole was mediocre, neither stunning nor disappointing.
What's more noteworthy is that he often sticks to the ball when organizing the attack, and his concentration on the defensive end is often insufficient, and he is easy to find a breakthrough by the opponent. So, my positioning for Podzemski is a good piece of the puzzle for him to sign on a full-time mid-range contract, but it's still a long way from the team's cornerstone and leader.
If Stephen · Curry is compared to the emperor of the Warriors, then Podemsky is obviously not even qualified for the crown prince, and even the position of chief of guard needs to be contested. What's more, his words and actions within the team have also caused some controversy, having upset Wiggins last year and making a series of high-profile remarks this year after the departures of Klay and Paul, which have raised doubts about his character.
Young players need to be humble on the team, especially in a team with an illustrious history like the Warriors. Podzemski needs to understand that the team's core players such as Curry and Dream · Green have a huge impact on the court. His predecessor, Jordan · Poole, left the team because of overconfidence, and it remains to be seen whether Podemski can learn those lessons.
Overall, Podzemski has big ambitions, but before he can achieve them, he needs to keep his feet on the ground and work hard to improve his ability to make sure he can really play his part in the team. Only then will he be able to find his place with the future Warriors and not just a young player chasing his dreams.