HONOLULU — As warmups ended before their first preseason game together as teammates, two Warriors vying to be in the starting lineup embraced. Brandin Podzemski turned to De’Anthony Melton at the layup line and opened his arms wide before the two smiled, laughed and shared a big hug.
About an hour and a half ago, after days of keeping his lips sealed and refusing to reveal his plans, coach Steve Kerr finally told reporters that Milton would start alongside Steph Curry in the backcourt, also sharing the floor with Jonathan Kuminga, Draymond Green and Trace Jackson-Davis.
The pregame moment between the teammates was a reflection of what it means to spend a week in Hawaii, as well as the time we spent together at Chase Center before training camp. The bonding was demanding and the chemistry quickly took shape.
Podzemski and Milton on paper would have constituted a bloody struggle for the same place. As a rookie, Podziemski was the one to replace Klay Thompson in the starting lineup and was cemented as the rising face of the franchise. Milton was courted by the Warriors using the mid-level exception by waiving Chris Paul and signing the combo guard to a one-year, $12.8 million contract. The front office hasn’t been shy about hiding how much they want him, both for Milton and among themselves.
Now, he’s the first to become Curry’s new backcourt mate for the 2024-25 NBA season, along with a nickname from Podzemski that he’s laughing at while still trying to figure out his reasons.
“That’s my dog,” Milton says of Podzemski. “He calls me OG, but I’m not that old, so I don’t know about that. But that’s my dog. We actually chop it up a good amount. We just pick each other’s minds and see what’s going on and I love being around him.”
In the locker room after the Warriors’ 91-90 win over the Los Angeles Clippers, the 21-year-old Podzemski explained his thoughts behind the 26-year-old Milton.
“I call De’Anthony OG because he looks old, but he’s only 26,” Podzemski joked. “It’s been good. It’s just clicked, shaken. There’s no ego. We just want to get out there and meet each other.”
There is no repeat of Klay Thompson. The Warriors haven’t tried to replace him with a single player, though it’s easy to see how a combination of two newcomers could fill his role. Buddy Hield is a sharp shooter who can ignite an offense in an instant from downtown, as saw him hit his first attempt as a Warrior – a 3-pointer off a Podziemski pass.
Milton isn’t the same flamethrower from deep as Hield or Thompson. He can still more than just defend himself offensively, and he’s the closest thing the Warriors have to a two-way guard, like when Curry and Thompson complemented each other perfectly on the way to five straight NBA Finals, before Klay took two devastating hits. In leg injuries at the end of the season.
How he connects to the game was evident throughout camp. The disruption was especially evident during a sequence in the second quarter when Milton kept the play alive and immediately found Curry at the top of the arc. The result was actually Curry creating his own worldly appeal and giving up the ball to Milton wide open.
Milton ➡ Steve ➡ m3ton pic.twitter.com/iOnP3PXYlj
– Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) October 5, 2024
Golden State’s first points of the game were also off a Curry layup for a Milton 3-pointer.
Steve finds Milton for 3️⃣ pic.twitter.com/lRvaryu5Ii
– Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) October 5, 2024
“They look great together,” Kerr said. “I know Steph didn’t shoot well, but they look out for each other. De’Anthony is a really good shooter, but he’s also a playmaker and gets into everything defensively. I’m a big fan of De’Anthony and I really like the depth of our offense.”
Whether he’s a member of the Phoenix Suns, Memphis Grizzlies, or Philadelphia 76ers, Milton has chased Curry all over the court multiple times. Players and coaches also told Milton they thought he should have been on the floor more for the Grizzlies against the Warriors in the 2022 playoffs, an act of admiration that he smiled sweetly at and accepted without offering any shade at one of his players. Old teams.
Now that he and Curry were on the same side, he had to remember what a different feeling he had as a teammate.
“You don’t understand his movement until you’re on the field,” Milton explained. “One time he threw the ball and I was on the weak side and then he flew away and I was like, ‘Oh, I forgot!’ you know what i mean. It’s things like this where you have to stay engaged.
“I think everyone is involved in this offense and that’s what I love about it.”
Their first show wasn’t ideal for Carey and Milton. There were flashes, though. The idea of why this could work is clear. Step by step, the Warriors are becoming confident that they have a new duo they can rely on.
Just as they can assign Podziemski to multiple roles on any given night. On Saturday, it was his turn to lead a second unit of Hield, Gary Payton II, Kyle Anderson and Kevon Looney, along with Moses Moody later. Like almost everyone on the Warriors, Podziemski struggled with his shooting, but he led the team in assists with four and finished second in plus/minus at Plus-5, making what was the pass of the game with ease.
Podz hits GP2 with the help of power recoil 🤯 pic.twitter.com/6kPAS3Zj8B
– Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) October 5, 2024
“I don’t mind it,” Podzemski said. “Whatever team I’m in, whether I start or as a substitute, for me, I just want to finish games and be where the most important games are being played. If I start, if I come off the bench, it doesn’t really matter. I’m proud to captain the second group.”
“A point guard is supposed to be a leader out there. I think I did that today. … From a broader perspective of leadership and being a starter, I think I did that well.”
Yoga together on Oahu’s North Shore paradise may have been one factor. Whatever the case, there is a different feeling with these warriors, one that is far from old. There’s junk for them. stubborn. Feisty. together.
“We’ve added veterans, but we feel younger,” Podzemski said to sum it up.
Separated by just five years and linked by a sarcastic two-letter nickname, the fast-building relationship between Podzemski and Milton is one example of the Warriors turning over a new leaf and bringing a new vibe to start a new era that has many excited. I started.
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