The Golden State Warriors ticked off their biggest contract task on Friday, signing franchise superstar Stephen Curry to a two-year, $116 million extension on the eve of training camp.
With Curry's future now secure and that talking point out of the way, eyes will turn to whether the Warriors will also come to terms on an extension with young guard Brandin Podziemski. However, a specific element of Curry's new deal reveals that the front office may already have a plan of sending Podziemski to restricted free agency.
Stephen Curry deal reveals Warriors' likely stance on Brandin Podziemski
Curry didn't take the two-year, $136.7 million max that he was eligible to sign, and nor did he take anywhere near the floor he could have signed for which would have started at approximately $37.5 million annually. So, why was he willing to sacrifice $20 million?
The answer might lie in Yossi Gozlan of the Third Apron and his analysis of Golden State's cap situation after the Curry extension. As much as the 38-year-old's deal takes a major chunk out of the Warriors' projected cap space in free agency next summer, Gozlan still projects that they could generate up to $64 million to utilize.
Gozlan also notes that the 'max' next year is slated to be $61.6 million. In other words, Curry might have taken the most he could while also allowing the front office to retain the capacity to build max cap space.
If Golden State's plan is to have max cap space next offseason, they're not going to relinquish that by giving Podziemski a contract now. The 23-year-old is objectively a good role player, but the Warriors surely won't prioritize him over the potential of signing a genuine star next offseason. Not when they'll still have the leverage of restricted free agency with Podziemski anyway.
Brandin Podziemski may have to take significant unders to reach new deal
It may actually need to be Podziemski who has to convince Golden State into a deal by being willing to take significantly under his value. The extension might have to be so team-friendly that the Warriors couldn't possibly say no.
But why would Podziemski do that? Sure, restricted free agency has been a tough situation for multiple young players in the past two offseasons, but Podziemski doesn't appear like someone who will be forced into a bad contract just to avoid that.
The prospects of a Podziemski extension appeared limited before Curry's deal was announced on Friday, and now it would be a genuine surprise if an agreement was reached given the Warriors' desire for max cap space has become even clearer.
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