Days will pass, but the wound left behind by Klay Thompson’s exit from the Golden State Warriors will take some more time to heal! In light of the 34-year-old’s decision to partner up with the Dallas Mavericks, Warriors fans have shown their displeasure with the news. Most of them are not even willing to accept the player won’t be on their roster next year. With all the rage and rampage, the effect is also reaching the young members of the franchise. And Brandin Podziemski’s recent reaction is proof of that.

The 21-year-old is currently taking a break from representing the Warriors at the ongoing NBA 2K25 Summer League. In the aftermath of the matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder earlier today, Podziemski highlighted the impact that Klay Thompson had on the earliest stage of his career by stating that his teachings are not something that one can just find on Google or YouTube. While Thompson may no longer be associated with the Warriors, the young star knows that he will still be present for him as a mentor.

“For me, just appreciating his presence, appreciating everything he shared with me from an on-core and off-core perspective, and…. getting a call from him a couple days ago, and him telling me I’ll always have a brother in him for life, is pretty cool,” said Podziemski.

In just one season, Podziemski had created a significant presence for himself within the veteran roster. While his averages haven’t gone higher than 9.2 points during the regular season, he had his moments as he often secured 19 or even 20 during crucial games. This may have been the reason he was ultimately named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team in May. Now, with Klay Thompson’s exit, the shooting guard is set to possess more responsibilities going into the 2024-25 season.

“Scoring the ball,” said Podziemski when recently asked about his focus for the upcoming season. “It sounds pretty simple, but I think I can help Steph, without Klay now, without Chris; I think I can pick up that kinda slack there.” The player highlighted that after being named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team, certain expectations have been placed on him. He hopes to “exceed those expectations.”

Despite his phenomenal performance that allowed the Warriors to win their first two games, Brandin Podziemski has been absent from the Summer League lineup since his last appearance at Sunday’s game against the Chicago Bulls. The Warriors are reportedly keeping the player on the sidelines as a precautionary measure. With Klay Thompson and Chris Paul no longer there to help out the Warriors, the franchise needs to ensure that their Podziemski is healthy enough to help Stephen Curry on the offensive front during the regular season games.

Did Brandin Podziemski unintentionally cause Klay Thompson’s exit?

There would have been a major reason for Klay Thompson to bring his 13-year journey with the Golden State Warriors to an end. The same was ultimately attributed to contract negotiations, as the Warriors were unwilling to provide the player with the four-year extension that he sought. However, according to reports, negotiations for the extension deal were less about the money and more about the fact that Thompson did not feel he was getting the desired respect from the franchise. In such a situation, Brandin Podziemski may have been an unintentional catalyst to the veteran’s exit.

In an interview back in late June, Klay Thompson’s on-court rival CJ McCollum expressed that Thompson’s role was diminished with the Warriors after head coach Steve Kerr started rookie Brandin Podziemski over him in quite some games in the recent season. While Thompson denied that putting the then-rookie over him was not a ‘demotion’, the Pelicans player stated “To be treated the way he was treated this last year-and-a-half or so, I looked at it as disrespect from the outside looking in. I think he may have taken it that way as well.”

According to Yahoo Sports reporter Jake Fischer, the Warriors had plans to bring Klay Thompson off the bench, but BEHIND Brandin Podziemski for the upcoming season.

Therefore, the lowball contract offer, combined with the fact that a new player was being given more importance over him, may have contributed to this major exit. Despite everything, however, the fact that Klay Thompson continues to serve as a mentor to Podziemski may attest that their bond remains intact for now.