Warriors Sign Gui Santos To Three-Year Extension

Santos signed a three-year, $15MM extension which features a player option in 2028/29, ESPN’s Shams Charania reports (via Twitter).

After playing a modest role for most of the season, Santos has been playing major minutes of late with Jimmy Butler sidelined due to a torn ACL. The Brazilian has thrived over his past 12 appearances, averaging 15.0 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.6 steals and 0.9 blocks in 28.8 minutes per game.

Santos has started 10 of those 12 games, including the team’s last nine, and has posted a shooting line of .588/.431/.692 over that stretch.

Overall, Santos has appeared in 48 games (16.0 MPG) this season for Golden State, averaging 6.6 PPG, 3.2 RPG and 1.7 APG on .531/.390/.680 shooting.

Santos would have been a restricted free agent in the offseason. Instead of waiting until the summer to negotiate a new deal, the 23-year-old opted to sign a long-term extension to stay with the franchise that selected him 55th overall in the 2022 draft.

Although Santos’ doesn’t have a ton of NBA experience, $5MM annually is still a team-friendly rate considering his recent contributions and his projected role for the rest of the season. When I took an in-depth look at Santos a few days ago in a Front Office article, I speculated that he might be able to get $6-9MM per year in restricted free agency.

Still, having that player option for ’28/29 was a nice compromise for Santos. He would be an unrestricted free agent in 2028 if he declines it, and will be extension-eligible again in the 2027 offseason.

Santos was one of several players around the league eligible for veteran contract extensions. The full list can be found right here.