Golden State has 12 days to extend Brandin Podziemski or let him play out his rookie contract and become a restricted free agent next summer. The gap in the negotiation is not philosophical. It is about six million dollars a year.
Brett Siegel reports Podziemski’s camp is looking for roughly $20 million to $24 million annually. The Warriors would prefer something in the $16 million to $18 million range. Marc Stein reports both sides want a deal done.
Hoops Rumors headlined a Wednesday item “No Rush To Extend Brandin Podziemski,” which captures the Warriors’ posture.
His case for the higher number
Podziemski is 23 and played 82 games last season with 43 starts, averaging 13.8 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.7 assists with 1.1 steals in 28.5 minutes, shooting 45.5 percent from the field, 37.1 percent from three and 79.7 percent from the line. The scoring and free-throw figures were career highs.
The post-All-Star-break numbers are the real argument. Over 27 games he averaged 17.5 points, 6.2 rebounds and 4.1 assists. He also finished second in the NBA in charges drawn, which is the kind of statistic that does not show up in a highlight and does show up in a playoff series.
His cap hold next summer is near $17 million.
The comparables cut both ways
Golden State’s stated reference point, per Jake Fischer, is Pelle Larsson’s four-year, $60 million extension with Miami. That is $15 million a year and lands right at the bottom of the Warriors’ range.
Podziemski’s side will point at Keyonte George, who agreed to five years and $157.5 million with Utah on September 18. That is a different tier entirely.
Both are defensible comparisons, which is exactly why the two sides are apart. The honest answer is that Podziemski is better than Larsson and less proven as a primary option than George.
Stephen Curry’s extension is the constraint
Golden State agreed to a two-year, $116 million extension with Curry on September 25, with a player option for 2028-29. The structure pays him $62.6 million in 2026-27, $55.7 million in 2027-28 and a $60.2 million option in 2028-29.
Curry took roughly $20 million less than he could have, which is the only reason this conversation is possible at all. It still eats most of the flexibility, and Kristaps Porzingis is on a two-year, $40 million extension while being out indefinitely with an undisclosed health issue.
What happens if nobody blinks
Podziemski plays the season on his rookie deal and hits restricted free agency, where Golden State holds matching rights and the market sets the number. If he repeats his post-break production, that number is higher than $24 million.
He scored seven points on 2-of-10 shooting in 18 minutes in the preseason opener, a 104-101 loss to the Clippers in Honolulu, then put up 16 points with a steal and a block in 19 minutes in Tuesday’s 124-98 win over the Lakers.
Twelve days. Six million dollars. Somebody moves.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.