The Golden State Warriors and Brandin Podziemski agreed to a five-year, $110 million contract extension on Saturday, according to multiple reports. That feat will make the former No. 19 overall prospect in the Bay Area for the foreseeable future.
Podziemski, 23, averaged 13.8 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game last season on a 45.5/37.1/79.7 shooting split, appearing in all 82 games for the Warriors. Podziemski has been a rare hit with the Warriors in recent drafts, and they will give him a nice contract extension that gives both sides some stability going forward.
For Podziemski, he likely looked at the restricted free agent landscape and saw how declining the extension and hitting the RFA market had gone wrong for many years. With more than $100 million on the table, the willing signed on the line, and it will not be highlighted whether you would like to have interest from a major free agent next summer.
The Warriors have been trying to maintain as much financial flexibility as possible with Stephen Curry in their sights on one final ballgame, which is why Podziemski’s extension raised some eyebrows when the news emerged.
Stephen Curry, Warriors reportedly agree to $116M extension: What does it mean for Golden State’s future?
Sam Quinn
The military maintains the flexibility to be able to upgrade the roster
Curry, 38; it consists of a less-than-max extension Earlier this offseason, it appears the addition of the spot will help the Warriors make some much-needed roster upgrades next summer. For many, the initial reaction to seeing Podziemski’s contract number was to wonder how much of that space would help Curry, as it is clear that Podziemski’s deal will be swallowed up.
However, his cap hit for next summer is set at $17 million and the first year of his new deal will start at roughly $18.9 million, meaning he only has to shave $1.9 million off his cap space. For the Warriors, that’s a minimal loss of flexibility, while Podziemski’s next contract price wouldn’t increase if he had a break in 2026-27.
And since his extension won’t kick in next summer, Podziemski’s new deal won’t hurt the Warriors financially either, if they wanted to explore making a move at the trade deadline this season. It provides some clarity on the court’s plans for Podziemski’s future with Curry, and the most notable thing with the extension is that Podziemski is likely to be barred from being included in any deal at the deadline.
Golden State can still clear $60 million in cap space next summer if it wants to deal with Kristaps Porzingis’ $20 million deal for just $3 million. However, that roster would only include seven players and would not hold the cap for Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green. How Green and Butler deal with looming free agency will determine exactly how much they will have next summer, but Podziemski’s extension will have a significant impact on that, in addition to confirming that he can be counted on as part of the long-term roster plan.