Draymond Green Warns Brandin Podziemski Over Desire to Be Team Leader: “Be Careful”

Draymond Green and his veteran Warriors teammates will look to lean on younger players such as Brandin Podziemski to help them next season.

Draymond Green Warns Brandin Podziemski Over Desire to Be Team Leader: “Be Careful”

Draymond Green and Brandin Podziemski (Image via FirstSportz)

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As a second-round pick, no one envisioned Draymond Green to become one of the leaders of the Golden State Warriors’ dynasty. Now, he and his fellow veterans are grooming young players such as Brandin Podziemski to take over at some point.

Leadership is one of the hardest things to master. Just ask Kyrie Irving, who took nearly a decade away from LeBron James to realize it is not as easy as one might think.

Leadership comes with a lot of pitfalls, something many athletes are not ready to accept and work around. Some cannot even stomach the criticism that follows. That is what Draymond Green wants Brandin Podziemski to know.

The 22-year-old claimed recently that he wants to be more involved in leading the Warriors, and that, his veteran teammate believes, is fine. However, the four-time champion decided to warn him about the other side of wanting to be a leader.

It’s exciting, but still, as a leader, you also understand what that comes with. With him I say, ‘Be careful.’ Don’t tell people too much. The more you tell people, the more they use it against you and try to tear you down… We believe that he’s going to be one of the guys that take the torch.

Draymond Green said at the Warriors’ press conference

Draymond Green reiterated his confidence in his younger teammate. However, he believes Brandin Podziemski should take his time before he becomes a leader, and the guard should not ‘speed up his clock.’

Draymond Green does not want to protect Brandin Podziemski in leadership quest

After Draymond Green talked about how he does not want Brandin Podziemski to get bogged down by criticism of his leadership, another reporter asked if the veteran was going to rein in his younger teammate.

It’s a slippery slope. You don’t rein it in too much, you change the guy. So you just let them run rampant. And when they mess it up, you call them in and try to help them out.

Draymond Green said

The former Defensive Player of the Year believes that reining in too much would not allow a younger player to learn what goes wrong. Then, when they commit mistakes, veteran leaders can guide them.

That way, the said young player can learn and fix their shortcomings. Green believes Podziemski is bound to take over from the older players at some point, but that time has not come yet.

Draymond Green and Warriors are gunning for a 5th title

The Golden State Warriors surprised many by not making multiple moves in the offseason. They believe their current roster was good enough, once they are healthy and spend more time playing with each other.

Warriors' veterans want to fight for title
Warriors’ veterans want to fight for title (Image via GSWL/X)

Then they brought in Al Horford. The veteran center’s presence is bound to give them a boost in terms of both offense and defense. This team also has a good mix of young players.

The hope is that they do not have to depend on the veterans to carry the bulk of the load like Stephen Curry had to do in the first half of last season. That way, they can avoid injuries and battle through to fight for their fifth title in a little over a decade.

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