Podziemski-Melton bond perfectly portrays new Warriors vibe originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
HONOLULU, Hawaii – As warmups were ending ahead of their first preseason game together as teammates, two Warriors competing to be in the starting lineup embraced. Brandin Podziemski turned around to De’Anthony Melton in the layup line and opened his arms out wide before the two smiled, laughed and shared a big hug.
About an hour and a half earlier, after days of keeping his lips sealed and refusing to reveal his plans, coach Steve Kerr finally told reporters that Melton would start alongside Steph Curry in the backcourt, also sharing the floor with Jonathan Kuminga, Draymond Green and Trayce Jackson-Davis.
The pregame moment between teammates was a reflection of what a week away in Hawaii was all about, as well as time spent together at Chase Center leading up to training camp. Bonding was a requirement and chemistry had quickly taken shape.
Podziemski and Melton on paper could have formed bad blood battling for the same spot. As a rookie, Podziemski was the one who replaced Klay Thompson in the starting lineup and has been propped as an up-and-coming face of the franchise. Melton was wooed 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 wasn’t shy in hiding how much they coveted him, both to Melton and amongst each other.
Now, he’s the first to be Curry’s new backcourt mate for the 2024-25 NBA season, along with a nickname from Podziemski he laughs at while still trying to figure out his reasoning.
“That’s my dog,” Melton says of Podziemski. “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 brains, see what’s going on and I like being around him.”
In the locker room after the Warriors’ buzzer-beating 91-90 win over the Los Angeles Clippers, the never-shy 21-year-old Podziemski explained his thoughts behind his OG of a 26-year-old Melton.
“I call De’Anthony OG because he looks old as s–t, but he’s only 26,” Podziemski joked. “It’s been good. We’ve just been clicking, vibing. There’s no ego. We just want to go out there and hoop for each other.”
There’s no replicating a Klay Thompson. The Warriors didn’t try to replace him with a single player, though it’s easy to see how a combination of two newcomers can fill his role. Buddy Hield is the sharp-shooter who can ignite an offense in an instant from downtown, as seen by him splashing his first shot attempt as Warrior – a 3-pointer off an assist by Podziemski.
Melton isn’t the same flamethrower from deep that Hield or Thompson is. He still can more than hold his own offensively, and he is the closest thing the Warriors have to a two-way guard the likes of when Curry and Thompson were perfectly complementing each other on the way to five straight NBA Finals, prior to Klay being dealt two devastating blows in season-ending leg injuries.
How he connects the game was evident throughout camp. The disruption was especially obvious during a sequence in the second quarter when Melton kept a play alive and immediately found Curry at the top of the arc. The result then was actually Curry creating his otherworldly gravity and giving the ball up for a wide-open Melton.
Golden State’s first points of the game also were from Curry assisting a Melton three.
“They look great together,” Kerr said. “I know Steph didn’t shoot well, but they look for each other. De’Anthony’s a really good shooter, but also a playmaker and gets in the mix on everything defensively. I’m a really big fan of De’Anthony and I really like the depth of our offense.”
Whether it has been as a member of the Phoenix Suns, Memphis Grizzlies or Philadelphia 76ers, Melton has chased Curry plenty of times around the court. Players and coaches also have let it be known to Melton they think he should have been on the floor more for the Grizzlies against the Warriors in the 2022 playoffs, an act of admiration he kindly smiles at and accepts without offering any shade at one of his old teams.
Now that he and Curry are on the same side, he had to remember what a different feeling it is having him as a teammate.
“You don’t understand his movement until you’re on the court,” Melton explained. “One time he threw the ball and I’m on the weak side and he comes flying off and I’m just like, ‘Oh, I forgot!’ you know what I mean. It’s stuff like that where you got to stay engaged.
“I think with this offense, everybody is engaged and that’s what I love about it.”
Their first showing wasn’t perfect for Curry and Melton. There were flashes, though. The idea of why this can work is clear. Step by step, the Warriors are confident they have a new duo they can entrust.
Just like they can entrust Podziemski in multiple roles on any given night. On Saturday, his role was to lead a second unit of Hield, Gary Payton II, Kyle Anderson and Kevon Looney, along with Moses Moody later. Podziemski struggled shooting like nearly all of the Warriors, but led the team in assists with four and was second in plus/minus at plus-5, executing what easily was the pass of the game.
“I don’t mind it,” Podziemski said. “Whoever I’m with, starting or coming off the bench, for me I just want to finish games and be where the most important plays are made. If I’m starting, if I’m coming off the bench, it really doesn’t matter. I take pride in leading the second group.
“Point guard is supposed to be a leader out there. I think today I did that. … From a broader perspective of leadership and being a point guard, I think I did that pretty well.”
Yoga together in the paradise of the North Shore on Oahu might have been one factor. Whatever it is, there’s a different sense with these Warriors, one that is far from stale. There’s a scrappiness to them. Tenacious. Feisty. Together.
“We added veterans, but we feel younger,” Podziemski said to sum it up.
Separated by only five years and bonded by an ironic two-letter nickname, the fast-building relationship of Podziemski and Melton is one example of the Warriors turning over a new leaf and bringing a fresh vibe to start a new era that many are excited has begun.
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