Podz uses Steph analogy to address Giannis-Bucks trade rumors
Podz uses Steph analogy to address Giannis-Bucks trade rumors originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Wisconsin native Brandin Podziemski is on the Warriors, but he grew up watching Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks.
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So as trade rumors swirl around the two-time NBA MVP, Podziemski understands the gravity of Antetokounmpo potentially leaving Milwaukee — especially since he plays alongside another one-team generational talent in Steph Curry.
'I mean, [it's] the same thing with any player like that, it's like Steph not playing for the Warriors,' Podziemski told Kay Adams on the 'Up & Adams' show Tuesday. 'All guys who cemented their legacy and what they're about in this league with one team, you never expected it to change. The same with Luka Dončić and Dallas [Mavericks], like the whole world is shocked because of the player he is, and you can see how they were building around him. But like I said, it's like any star in the league that stays with one team, you just expect them to be in one jersey and anywhere else just doesn't seem right at all.'
The Bay Area likely would riot if Curry left the Warriors, but Dub Nation certainly would welcome Antetokounmpo to Golden State with open arms. However, while Antetokounmpo reportedly met with the Bucks to discuss his and the team's future, it remains unclear if he will request a trade out of Milwaukee even if the Warriors are an intriguing destination.
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Golden State would have to give up plenty for that to happen, and it also views recent addition Jimmy Butler as a subtle superstar who will continue to push the team to new heights next season.
For Podziemski, who has played against Antetokounmpo and the Bucks four times in his young NBA career, it's always a full-circle moment to go up against someone whose career arc he has observed from Day 1. In Podziemski's first game back in Milwaukee against the Bucks on Jan. 13, 2024, he shone with 23 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and two steals.
'I saw Giannis get drafted,' Podziemski told Adams. 'I was at a lot of games his rookie year and throughout his development. And so to be on the same court as him, playing against him, competing, it's pretty cool, but it's also kind of a full-circle moment for me, just because I played at Illinois and we played in Marquette, which is in Milwaukee, and I didn't play any minutes that game, and I had a bunch of people that are watching me.
'So to go back there my rookie year and play well and play a lot in front of those same people, it was kind of refreshing for me.'
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Whether or not Antetokounmpo's arc brings him to the Warriors alongside Podziemski — or elsewhere in the league — remains to be seen.
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