Yardbarker
x
Warriors’ Brandin Podziemski aims for long-term contract extension after ‘up and down’ season

SAN FRANCISCO – In a season full of highs and lows for Brandin Podziemski and the Golden State Warriors, the 23-year-old guard is ending his third year on a high.

“Kind of coincides with the team’s success, so up and down,” Podziemski summarized his season at exit interviews. “Slow to start. Learned some things when Jimmy and Steph were out that are going to help me in the future. I think I finished strong. March and April were good for me. Had a couple of solid games in the play-in. So, yeah, just ready to continue and take the momentum from that into next year.”

He averaged 17.5 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 4.1 assists after the All-Star break. Played in all 82 games this season, plus two Play-In games. Acknowledged the arrogance of his “want to be better than Steph Curry” comments. And maybe most importantly… broke the 30-point barrier to the delight of the internet.

A successful end to his season at just the right time.

With only a year left on his rookie contract, Podziemski becomes extension eligible this offseason, putting him in a position for a potentially big payday. It’s a situation Podziemski says he is hopeful he and the Warriors can resolve as the summer approaches.

“I want to be here for the long-term,” Podziemski said. “It’s always special having the team that drafted you, so hopefully we can get something done.”

Podziemski has yet to discuss a new deal with Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy, but he’ll leave those negotiations to his agent Bill Duffy and remains optimistic the two sides will reach a deal before the Oct. 31 extension deadline.

Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody’s rookie extensions as a framework


Brett Davis-Imagn Images

It’s hard to say how much money Podziemski will command for this extension. Using other above-average starter-level players as a framework for a potential Podziemski contract put the guard somewhere around the $17-23-million per range, with $25-milion being the maximum a team should give him.

Take, for example, the deals 27-year-old Nickiel Alexander Walker and 25-year-old Christian Braun are inked to. These are their basic stats the year before they were extended, compared to Podziemski’s this year:

  • Nickeil Alexander-Walker: 9.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 2.7 assists in 82 games in 2024-25 ($15.1-mil per year).
  • Christian Braun: 15.4 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 2.6 assists in 79 games in 2024-25 ($25.0-mil per year).
  • Brandin Podziemski: 13.8 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 3.7 assists in 82 games this season.

Podziemski’s numbers slot him in between those two, hence that $20-million goldilocks zone. We can even list players like Patrick Williams, De’Andre Hunter, and John Collins, players currently making $18-25-million a year that Podziemski has outperformed already.

Plus, if you factor in him being younger than both players and how he showed he can stay healthy this season, those are two chips Podziemski and his agent Duffy can use to net him more money in negotiations.

As for how negotiations will proceed, Podziemski noted that observing how Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody handled their rookie extension negotiations will help him in his own.

If you remember, Kuminga’s negotiations turned tumultuous and dragged on into training camp. He eventually got his money, but not much long-term security. As for Moody, his went far more smoothly, and he got long-term security, albeit for less money on a deal that looks to be very team-friendly.

“I think both seeing him and Moses do two different things for me helped, just seeing the goods and bads to both sides,” Podziemski said. “I don’t think one is better than the other, but seeing that as a teammate and seeing how they handled both situations, I think is going to help me.”

We’ll see how Podziemski’s extension negotiations unfold later this summer.

This article first appeared on NBA on ClutchPoints and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads:

Customize Your Newsletter

Yardbarker +

Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA.