Dub Hub: Mike Dunleavy Jr. believes Dennis Schroder’s addition will benefit Brandin Podziemski

Rounding up all Warriors and NBA related news for Tuesday, December 17th.

In today’s Dub Hub:

• Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. explains how the trade for Dennis Schroder will benefit second year guard Brandin Podziemski.
• The San Francisco Standard’s Tim Kawakami interviewed Warriors’ owner Joe Lacob about this weekend’s big trade and about any potential deals moving forward.
• Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich releases first statement since suffering a stroke six weeks ago.

Golden State Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. spoke on the recent trade the team made for Brooklyn Nets guard Dennis Schroder on Monday. Dunleavy expressed optimism about the move, specifically highlighting the impact Schroder’s addition could have on second-year guard Brandin Podziemski, who has struggled in his role as the team’s backup point guard.

Podziemski’s sophomore campaign has been marred by inconsistency, epitomized by a viral moment during Sunday’s game against the Dallas Mavericks when he hesitated on an open shot, only to end up trapped in the corner as the shot clock expired. As Dunleavy noted, much of Podziemski’s rookie success stemmed from playing a simplified role alongside primary ball-handlers like Steph Curry and former Warrior Chris Paul.

The addition of Schroder is expected to ease the burden on Podziemski by allowing him to focus on secondary creation, spot-up shooting, and general hustle plays on the court—areas where he showed a lot of promise in his first year. Dunleavy believes this move could help the young guard regain his confidence and rhythm as the season progresses.

For more on this and other news around the NBA, here is our latest news round-up for Tuesday, December 17th:

Warriors News:

Warriors: Dennis Schroder to help Curry, Green in title chase | ESPN

“We’re always aggressive,” Dunleavy said on a conference call to discuss the Schroder addition. “You got to be mindful of what you’re giving up, what you’re getting back, all those things. But anything to do to make the team better, we’re going to do.

“We’re in a time zone here of maximizing our window with Steph, Draymond and Steve [Kerr] as our coach. So as proven here on the first day we could basically make trades with certain players, we did that. ... For the most part I feel good about this team, particularly on the defensive end, and now we have a player that we think could create and generate more offense for us. I want to evaluate and see, but we’ll always be looking at stuff.”

Kawakami: Joe Lacob doesn’t just want to maximize the Steph years — ‘Maximize my years’ | The San Francisco Standard

Warriors fans logically have fretted for years about making sure this team maximizes the Curry prime years. But Lacob doesn’t really think of it like that. His nature is to fret about maximizing all the years.

“I’m always trying to win,” Lacob said. “I don’t care if it’s ‘maximize the Steph years’ or ‘maximize the Draymond years.’ Maximize my years. It doesn’t matter to me. We’re trying to win at all times and be the best team we can.”

Klay Thompson embraces second return to Golden State, helps Mavericks beat Warriors | The Athletic

“I love shooting in Chase Center,” Thompson said after the game. “ I have been lucky enough to set records here and have incredible memories. I try to tap into that every time I’m back. It’s just as fun as the first time I was back, especially seeing the No. 11 jerseys and the young fans. Just to see the impact I had when I was here, it makes me incredibly proud of what I was able to do.”

Steve Kerr says there’s ‘zero quit’ in the Warriors’ locker room

Warriors’ guard Buddy Hield celebrates his 32nd birthday on Tuesday

NBA News:

Emirates NBA Cup Championship preview: Thunder, Bucks and a prediction | NBA

Prediction

Bucks. Since this one is in Vegas, we’ll note that the oddsmakers had the Thunder as 4.5-point favorites entering Monday night. Both teams are equally hot — OKC rolling, Milwaukee closing out a lot of tight games — and the two superstars are as good as it gets. As sidekicks, Lillard is capable of outscoring everyone, while Thunder forward Williams is a little Scottie Pippen-like. Here’s one wrinkle that could decide it: Milwaukee makes a lot of 3-pointers (38.9% accuracy) while Oklahoma City gives up a lot (44.6% of opponents’ shots come from the arc). If it’s a make night instead of a miss night, Milwaukee prevails.

Lakers trade season primer: What I’m hearing about Los Angeles’ plans | The Athletic

As The Athletic has previously reported, a Lakers move is more likely later in January or early in February leading into the deadline, allowing Los Angeles more time to evaluate the roster and see if injured players like Jarred Vanderbilt and Christian Wood can plug some of the holes within the rotation. But it appears that, if the Lakers make a move on the sooner end, trading for Valančiūnas, Johnson and/or Finney-Smith would be the most realistic exceptions.

Other names that have come up in talks with team and league personnel over the past few weeks include Utah’s Walker Kessler and Collin Sexton, Toronto’s Bruce Brown Jr., Portland’s Jerami Grant and Robert Williams III and Washington’s Kyle Kuzma. The Lakers are not anticipated to be heavily in the mix for Miami’s Jimmy Butler, New Orleans’ Brandon Ingram or Chicago’s Zach LaVine.

Statement from Spurs’ head coach Gregg Popovich following the stroke he suffered six weeks ago

In case you missed it at Golden State of Mind:

On Luka Dončić and the Mavericks tagging the Warriors by targeting the ‘tag’

Those scramble situations, more often than not, were created by Dončić at the point of attack and dictated by the coverage that the Warriors decided to play against him. Throughout the night, they attempted to send two to the ball against Dončić and took the risk of being in rotation everywhere else, banking on their ability to close the gaps created by everyone having to cover a wide swath of floor area. Early on in the season, the Warriors were able to cover those areas with little problem; against Dončić, one of the best at picking apart aggressive coverages, it was a highly risky endeavor, but one they felt they needed to do in order to take the ball out of Dončić’s hands.

Follow @unstoppablebaby on Twitter for all the latest news on the Golden State Warriors.