According to NBA reporter Anthony Slater of The Athletic, Golden State Warriors rookie Brandin Podziemski yelled at veteran Draymond Green during a scrimmage early in the season.
Green, who punched former teammate Jordan Poole in the face last season, had no problem with Podziemski yelling at him.
“I was like, ‘OK, cool, you got it. No problem,’” Green said. “Here we are playing a pick-up game, a game to get me ready and he’s yelling at me. That to me said a whole lot. I was like, ‘You know what? No problem. But make sure you speak up like that all the time.’”
Slater, who covers the Warriors as a beat reporter, detailed why Podziemski yelled at Green:
“Green sprained his left ankle just before training camp,” Slater wrote. “He missed about a month. In his ramp-up to return, the Warriors set up a scrimmage in Sacramento the morning of their second game. Podziemski was out of the rotation, so they had him play on Green’s team. They lost the first scrimmage after Green turned it over. ‘We can’t have a turnover for game!’ Podziemski told Green. ‘You cannot turn the ball over for game.'”
The Warriors drafted Podziemski with the 19th overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft out of Santa Clara. Podziemski is averaging 9.9 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.9 assists this season while shooting 46.4% from the field, 38.5% from beyond the arc and 61.0% from the free-throw line.
Podziemski has started 14 games for the Warriors, who are in 10th place in the West with a record of 27-26.
“I want to be an All-Star,” Podziemski said. “You know, Jonathan (Kuminga) has taken that next step of really being in that conversation. To see his growth just this year has been pretty special. So going into the summer after this year elevating my game to another level, doing the things that I’m deficient in now and making them as efficient as possible, I think I can get there. I’m never gonna just settle for being a role player, especially after my first year. I got a long career ahead of me.”
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