The Warriors bolstered their backcourt by selecting Santa Clara shooting guard Brandin Podziemski with the No. 19 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft on Thursday night at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.
While there were rumors that the Warriors might trade the pick, they kept it, stayed local and used it on Podziemski.
Podziemski, 20, is a Wisconsin native and attended Illinois as a freshman before transferring to Santa Clara for his sophomore season.
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Listed a 6-foot-5 and 205 pounds, Podziemski averaged 19.9 points and 8.8 rebounds on 48.3 percent shooting from the field and 43.8 percent from 3-point range over 36.0 minutes in 32 games for the Broncos last season.
While being interviewed by ESPN's Monica McNutt shortly after the Warriors selected him, Podziemski revealed that during the draft process, he said he wanted to face Steph Curry in the NBA. Now they will be teammates next season.
ESPN's draft expert Jonathan Givony wrote this about Podziemski in March:
Golden State Warriors
"NBA teams have some concerns about Podziemski's physical tools, as he doesn't boast great size, length or frame and has had some tough moments defensively one-on-one against better competition," Givony wrote. "With that said, he clearly brings an intriguing combination of toughness and smarts which allowed him to lead the WCC in rebounding and post a strong 1.8 steals per game."
Per Spotrac, Podziemski should sign a four-year, $16.2 million rookie scale contract with the Warriors.
The pick of Podziemski concludes a busy day for the Warriors in which they reportedly swung a blockbuster trade for Chris Paul, sending Jordan Poole, Ryan Rollins and two future draft picks to the Washington Wizards.
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On a day when the Warriors moved away from their two-timeline youth movement, they ended it by adding a 20-year-old to the mix.