The Golden State Warriors' bold move for Dennis Schroder sheds light on the struggles that Brandin Podiemski has had in trying to live up to expectations.
Dating back to the offseason, part of the reason why there wasn't a ton of panic surrounding the departure of Klay Thompson was because of how much the Golden State Warriors believed in Brandin Podziemski. And with the way he was praised during the offseason, there was a strong belief he would be ready to take a huge step forward for the Warriors this season. However, in a somewhat surprising fashion, the Warriors made a bold trade move for Dennis Schroder over the weekend.
As the move gets praised almost unanimously, it's certainly a trade that is going to help the Warriors solidify their struggling backcourt. But it's also a huge indictment on the fact that Podziemski has left a lot to be desired this season. Not making the jump in development that the Warriors believed he would make, Golden State decided it was time to make an addition to their backcourt in hopes of solving their inconsistency issues.
The addition of Schroder likely means less Podziemski this season
And no matter what the Warriors may say, the addition of Schroder is likely going to equate to a cut in Podziemski's minutes for the rest of this season. In 23 games played so far this season, Podziemski is averaging just eight points per game on 38 percent shooting from the field and 25 percent shooting from 3-point range. In the midst of a sophomore slump, the Warriors couldn't help but attempt to upgrade their backcourt play.
Even though it would be foolish to "give up" on the development of Podziemski, it's pretty clear the Warriors may have completely overvalued his potential after a strong rookie season. The struggles that Podziemski has faced this season don't mean he can't eventually evolve into the player the Warriors hoped he would but this step back certainly doesn't make any of that any easier.
The fact that the Warriors are all-in on winning now doesn't help this situation any. The Warriors needed Podziemski to develop quickly. That hasn't happened. And to be perfectly honest, Golden State doesn't have much time to wait around until it all begins to click for Podziemski (which may or may not happen this season).
The Warriors had to be proactive at some point soon and decided this was the moment to pull the trigger on a big move. Golden State is probably still high on Podziemski but it's pretty safe to say that his poor and inconsistent play this season did play a big role in the Warriors' decision to trade for Schroder.