Grading Brandin Podziemski's Contract Extension from Warriors' Perspective

Brandin Podziemski and the Golden State Warriors agreed to terms on a five-year, $110 million contract extension, his agent told ESPN's Shams Charania.

The deal includes a mutual option for the final year, which is the 2031-32 season.

Spotrac's Keith Smith broke down what the exact numbers of Podz's contract likely look like:

If Brandin Podziemski's contract follows the standard structure with 8% raises, it will look like this:

27-28: $18.9M
28-29: $20.5M
29-30: $22.0M
30-31: $23.5M
31-32: $25.0M (mutual option)

Takes off about $2M in projected 2027 cap space for GSW: $50.8M down to $48.8M.
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) October 10, 2026

Below, I've graded the Warriors based on whether they overpaid and how the contract affects their future.

Comparing Podz to Players Making Similar Money

Podz has been an advanced stats darling his whole career. It you look at just net rating and EPM, he's worth $22 million average annual value, if not a little more.

But what complicates this evaluation is that Podz has yet to prove he can score like the vast majority of players making $22 million AAV-plus.

Of the 96 players slated to make more than $18.9 million in 2027-28, Podz's 2025-26 PPG (13.8) ranks near the bottom.

Among the handful who had lower PPGs were Toumani Camara (13.4), Josh Hart (12.0), Herbert Jones (8.9) and Alex Caruso (6.2).

All these players are more impactful on-ball defenders than Podz. And all of them take on the toughest defensive assignment consistently.

Podz isn't a bad on-ball defender, but his defensive strengths are better suited for being off the ball, which is one reason he hasn't guarded the opposing team's best guard that often. The Warriors have played a ton of three-guard lineups over the last two seasons, and despite not being as quick or athletic as most NBA wings, Podz has guarded wings often (Basketball Reference estimates Podz spent 46 percent of his time as a 3 in 2024-25 and 37 percent in 2025-26).

The Warriors have been much better on defense with Podz on the floor over the last three years, which shows that Podz is an impactful defender. But there's a reason the best on-ball defenders are viewed as precious assets even when they have offensive warts. They can change playoff series in a way Podz can't.

So if we were going off defense alone, I'd argue Podz shouldn't be in the pay scale as Camara, Hart, Jones and Caruso.

But how Podz finished the 2025-26 season suggests he's a better offensive player than all of them.

Over the last 22 games of the regular season, Podz averaged 18.1 points (39.7% from three), 5.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists.

If he keeps up those numbers, he'll be worth more than the four players mentioned above.

But it's one thing to excel for one quarter of a season getting more opportunities due in part to Stephen Curry being out for most of those games. It's another thing entirely to keep up that offensive production for a whole season.

How Podz's Contract Impacts 2027 Free-Agency Plan

The Warriors have been championing optionality this offseason, in part because they don't have much long-term money on their books. The premise is that they can make major changes next offseason if things go south this season.

For example, they could let Jimmy Butler, Draymond Green, Kristaps Porzingis, Gary Payton II and others walk to increase their cap space total and give the team a new feel.

Podz's contract extension locks in an $18.9 million salary for the 2027-28 season, which does take away some optionality for that plan.

In theory, the Warriors could have released Podz next offseason to give themselves even more cap space.

But I'd argue what they did today was quite practical.

Podz had a $17 million cap hold for the 2027-28 season. That cap hold was going to eat into their cap space. So now instead of having that cap hold to work around, he's signed for $1.9 million more.

They lose some optionality but gain important clarity.

I had written here that if Podz signed an extension with a $20 million AAV, they could have about $48 million in cap space. so now that number is closer to $50 million.

Perhaps this Podz extension will make it so the Warriors can't offer a max contract to a free agent next season. But chances are there won't be a max-contract player who is truly gettable. Instead, they can use that $50 million on multiple upgrades, which is a better plan if used on the right players.

Grade from Warriors' Perspective

There are a lot of Warriors fans who can't get past the fact that Podz will never be a great one-on-one scorer. They are surely furious with this extension.

But they are missing so much about Podz.

He's an above-average shooter, rebounder and defender. $110 million sounds like a lot, but it'll likely represent about 12 percent of the team's cap for each season, which is a pretty small percentage for someone who will likely start and play a ton.

If Podz has a terrible season and this looks like an overpay next year, then the Warriors front office should be criticized. They didn't have to do this now, as they could have waited until next offseason when he was a restricted free agent.

But it feels more like the 23-year-old will have his best season and this will look like a bargain.

Every year of this extension will be during Podz's prime. It's good business from Mike Dunleavy Jr. and the front office to get a player in that age range signed for multiple years at a reasonable rate.

Getting Podz signed to a contract with a starting salary of $16 million or $17 million would have been a home run. A starting salary of just under $19 million feels like a stand-up triple.

Grade: A-

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