On Facebook
On Flipboard
The Warriors are making the right choice with Brandin Podziemski
Brandin Podziemski capped an exceptional rookie season with the Golden State Warriors by being named to the All-Rookie first team. The impressive wing played in 74 regular-season games for Golden State, averaging 9.2 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists while shooting 45.4% from the field and 38.5% from three-point range.
Since the beginning of the offseason, the Warriors have been linked to a potential trade for Lauri Markkanen. Recent reports have cited the Utah Jazz wanting a possible deal centered around Podziemski.
According to NBA insider Marc Stein, though, Golden State is more likely to part with Jonathan Kuminga than their All-Rookie talent in any potential move.
"There is also a growing belief leaguewide that the Warriors would be more willing to move Jonathan Kuminga in a Markkanen trade — or any big-swing deal — than Podziemski," Stein reported via his Substack on Sunday. "To this point, however, it must be noted that Golden State's offers for Markkanen have centered around a package featuring Moses Moody and draft compensation without including Podziemski or Kuminga."
Positioning Podziemski as untouchable is smart business by Joe Lacob and Mike Dunleavy Jr. The 21-year-old has incredible potential and has already proven capable of sharing a court with Steph Curry and Draymond Green. His ability to operate as an on-ball creator or off-ball scoring threat ensures Steve Kerr has a versatile rotation at his disposal.
Should the Warriors opt to make Kuminga available in a potential trade, it would represent a pivot away from their strong stance on his future earlier this year. According to The Athletic's Anthony Slater, the Warriors had made their third-year forward off limits at the Feb. 8 trade deadline.
Mike Dunleavy said Jonathan Kuminga was "virtually" untouchable in trade talks: "As untouchable as guys can be in this league. Didn't see a scenario where Jonathan wouldn't be on our team after this deadline."
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) February 8, 2024
While Kuminga projects to be a future All-Star whose athleticism gives the Warriors a different dimension on both ends of the floor, his fit within Steve Kerr's rotation is less seamless than that of Podziemski. As such, if Golden State is forced to choose between the two young talents, it makes sense the front office would choose the better fit with more cost-controlled years on his contract.
More must-reads:
- Warriors owner weighs in on possibility of Celtics bid
- Warriors feel they 'have a future All-Star' in Brandin Podziemski
- The 'Most three-point FGs in one season' quiz
Breaking News
Trending News
TODAY'S BEST
Ex-NBA player Sebastian Telfair hoping for pardon from Donald Trump
Sebastian Telfair is preparing to serve six months in prison but is hoping for some help from President Donald Trump. Telfair was among the former NBA players who were charged in 2021 with defrauding the NBA’s Health and Welfare Benefit Plan of approximately $358,000 in fake medical and dental claims. The former first-round pick was initially given a three-year suspended sentence that involved supervised release. But he violated the terms of his suspended sentence, which led to him being sentenced in June to six months in prison. Telfair was getting ready to report to prison and pleaded for the president to step in and pardon him. “Trump, go check in on my story and you’re definitely going to want to pardon me. You’ll hold me accountable and want me to continue to go do good. But I did too good to being sending anybody to jail,” Telfair argued in comments to a reporter from TMZ. Telfair contends that his recent issue is due to a paperwork problem. He feels the resulting sentence he’s received is “super unfair.” Whether President Trump is able to hear his case and pardon him remains to be seen, but Telfair is definitely trying. Telfair, 40, is from Brooklyn, N.Y., and developed a big following as a teenager due to his strong basketball play. He was the No. 13 overall pick in 2004 by Portland and began his career with them as a 19-year-old straight out of high school. Telfair played 10 seasons in the NBA and spent time with eight different teams. He averaged 7.4 points and 3.5 assists per game during his career.
Dolphins Get Worrisome Chop Robinson Injury News on Wednesday
The Miami Dolphins may have sustained another major injury. Just days after RB Alexander Mattison fell with a season-ending neck injury, all eyes are set on Chop Robinson now. According to a report by Ari Meirov, the second-year linebacker sustained an apparent injury, and while the team has yet to disclose more information, he had to be carted off the field: Chop Robinson was carted off the field "Dolphins EDGE Chop Robinson was carted off at practice today after suffering an apparent injury during a scrimmage period," Meirov reported. Robinson, who was taken out of Penn State with the No. 21 pick of the 2024 NFL Draft, turned plenty of heads in his first year in the league: “I enjoyed it (his rookie season) a little bit,” Robinson told the Miami Herald, “but it’s Year 2, so whatever happened in the past, that doesn’t really matter anymore. I’m just focused on this year.” Robinson ranked second among rookies with six sacks and 14 quarterback hits, and he entered the season with an 11.0 sacks projection and +15000 odds of winning Defensive Player of the Year. Chop Robinson is excited about the Dolphins' defensive front He's also expected to make a big impact next to Jaelan Phillips and Bradley Chubb, both of whom will be returning from major injuries of their own: “I’m super excited,” Robinson said. “Just imagining the three of us on the field at the same time, or just me and JP or JP and Chubb at the same time, it’s kind of hard for tackles to [say], ‘All right, you’ve got to study JP, you’ve got to study Chubb, you’ve got to study me.’ And if we’re all on the field at the same time, it [can] kind of mess up the offense’s mind because they wouldn’t know what to do.” Hopefully, this won't be too serious, and while the team may err on the side of caution and hold him out for the remainder of the preseason, he'll be back out there and ready to go in Week 1.
Notre Dame believed to be trending toward surprise choice at quarterback
The quarterback battle for Notre Dame is set to come to an end shortly, and it might be a surprise considering how the national media predicted the race to finish. Per Eric Hansen of On3, head coach Marcus Freeman is set to name the starting quarterback by Sunday when he meets the media. The Irish are still letting the quarterback battle play out until then, but it appears sophomore quarterback Kenny Minchey is the favorite to start at Hard Rock Stadium against the Miami Hurricanes on Aug. 31. Minchey has shown improvement in numerous areas throughout camp, and he has the edge on freshman quarterback CJ Carr in what is believed to be the final week of the competition. "As of Wednesday, the line between 1 and 2 remained blurred," Hansen wrote. "The tiebreaker may eventually go to Minchey, per the source, because of his ability to be a true running threat and offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock’s preference to have that element to put pressure on opposing defenses. "But he also has a preference for QBs who can transcend adversity, and the training camp phase was choreographed to test precisely that. While both contenders responded persistently in a manner that defies their inexperience, Minchey has been exceptional in that regard." Throughout the summer, ESPN writers such as Bill Connelly and Mark Schlabach have written as though it were a forgone conclusion that Carr would win the battle in training camp. However, Minchey appears to be a natural fit for how offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock likes to scheme against a defense. He helped dual-threat Jayden Daniels earn a Heisman Trophy in 2023 and took Notre Dame to a national championship appearance with Riley Leonard. The battle isn't over, but the edge appears to be running Minchey's way.
Mets to promote top pitching prospect for MLB debut
The New York Mets will call up top pitching prospect Nolan McLean to make his MLB debut on Saturday, reports SNY’s Andy Martino. He’ll step into the rotation spot vacated by Frankie Montas’ move to the bullpen. Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported earlier Wednesday morning that righty Paul Blackburn was also headed to the bullpen when he’s ready to be reinstated from the injured list, setting the stage for either McLean or fellow prospect Brandon Sproat to make his debut. As we noted on Tuesday, when the Mets moved Montas to the ’pen, the Saturday start aligns far better with McLean’s turn in the Triple-A rotation than with that of Sproat. McLean has also outpitched Sproat this season, though both well-regarded prospects have excelled recently. The timing of the move likely isn’t a coincidence. Saturday marks the first day on the calendar where there’s not enough time remaining for players to accrue enough service to exhaust their rookie eligibility. By waiting until Saturday to promote McLean, the Mets have ensured that he’ll still qualify as a rookie next season and therefore still be able to earn the Mets' potential future draft picks via the league’s Prospect Promotion Incentive (PPI) program. In all likelihood, McLean is just one of several top prospects around the league who’ll be promoted after Aug. 15. McLean, 24, was the Mets’ third-round pick in 2023. He’s rated as one of the system’s more promising young arms since that selection, but his stock has exploded in 2025 as he’s ripped through Double-A and Triple-A lineups. McLean has pitched a combined 113 2/3 innings between those two levels and compiled a tidy 2.45 ERA while punching out 27.2% of his opponents. His 10.7% walk rate is still too high, but his huge 54.7% ground-ball rate can help to erase a few of those free passes by way of the double-play ball. This year’s terrific run has not only vaulted McLean toward the top of the Mets’ in-house prospect lists — it’s made him a consensus top-100 prospect in the sport. He sits 37th among all big league prospects at MLB.com, 40th at Baseball America and 53rd at FanGraphs on each outlet’s post-deadline reranking of the sport’s top young talents. The 6-foot-2, 215-pound McLean is an Oklahoma State product whose athleticism draws plenty of praise. He was a two-sport star in high school, playing both baseball and football, and he was a two-way player at OSU, where he was a third baseman and outfielder in addition to his work on the mound. He’s since dialed in only on pitching and experienced an uptick in velocity, now sitting 95 mph with a four-seamer that can climb to 98 mph when he needs to reach back for a bit extra. MLB.com’s report on McLean calls his sweeper a “monster” of a pitch with “elite” spin rate. He’s sitting 85.5 mph with that pitch and also mixing in a sinker, cutter and seldom-used changeup. Because McLean will retain rookie eligibility going into next year, he could earn the Mets a draft pick down the line. If McLean were to win National League Rookie of the Year or finish top-three in NL MVP voting next season, the Mets would gain that pick. Even if McLean doesn’t hit either of those goals, the fact that he’ll be a top-100 prospect who accrued a full year of service as a rookie opens a three-year window for him to net the Mets a compensatory pick based on award voting. If McLean were to land any top-three finish in Cy Young or MVP voting before reaching arbitration, the Mets would still gain a pick. Players can only net their team one pick under the league’s PPI program, but the timing of his promotion means McLean could do so at any point from 2026-28. Setting aside the PPI aspect of the promotion, McLean’s promotion comes at a time when he cannot accrue a year of service this season. He’ll be controllable for at least six full years beyond the current campaign — potentially more than that, depending on whether he’s optioned at any point in the future. The earliest he could become a free agent would be after the 2031 season, and the earliest McLean could qualify for arbitration would be following the 2028 season.
Customize Your Newsletter
+
Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!
PRIVACY POLICY EDITORIAL POLICY CONTACT US
ABOUT YARDBARKER TERMS OF SERVICE
Use of this website (including any and all parts and
components) constitutes your acceptance of these
Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
This site is for entertainment purposes only.
There is no gambling offered on this site.
Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-Gambler.
