Warriors, Podziemski agree to 5-year, $110M extension — SkimNews
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- Brandin Podziemski signed a five-year, $110 million fully guaranteed extension with the Warriors, avoiding restricted free agency next summer, per agent Bill Duffy.
- The deal includes a trade kicker and a unique mutual option for 2031-32 that allows either side to opt in but not opt out, enabling both parties to reopen extension talks that offseason.
- Podziemski's salary jumps from $5.6M this season to $18.9M next year (rising to $25M in the mutual-option year), and his first-year extension price is $1.9M higher than his roughly $17M projected restricted free agency cap hold.
- GM Mike Dunleavy convinced Stephen Curry to take a $10M pay cut next season to preserve 2027-28 cap flexibility; the Warriors could still have $55M-$60M in space after potentially cutting Kristaps Porzingis, who has only $3M of his $20M guaranteed and is out indefinitely with a health issue.
- Podziemski, 23, was the 19th overall pick in the 2023 draft and the first selection of Dunleavy's tenure; he played all 82 games last season, set career highs in points per game (13.8), made 3s, assists, and steals, and has averaged 5+ rebounds per game at guard in all three seasons.
- Coach Steve Kerr called Podziemski a "connector"; the Warriors won his minutes by 261 points last season, trailing only Curry and Draymond Green.
- The Warriors open the season without starters Jimmy Butler III and Moses Moody, who are rehabbing serious knee injuries, leaving Podziemski as one of the few healthy constants on an aging, banged-up roster.
Why it matters: This extension locks in a young, durable building block — the first pick of GM Mike Dunleavy's tenure — at a cost of just $1.9M in next summer's cap room, while preserving the Warriors' 2027-28 flexibility around Curry's final seasons with four tradable first-round picks and the option to cut Porzingis.
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