General manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. and Warriors guard Brandin Podziemski both made it clear during the team's media day in San Francisco last week that a new extension was in sight. The deadline was October 19. After that date, Podziemski would have become a restricted free agent next summer, a situation that can be tricky at times (as we saw with Jalen Duren). Nine days ahead of that deadline, the two sides have agreed on a five-year, $110 million, fully guaranteed rookie-scale extension.
With that extension, Podziemski becomes the fifth player from the 2023 draft class to get paid, and he's the "cheapest" one at roughly $22 million per season. Here are the other four: Victor Wembanyama (5-year, approximately $252.3 million), Amen Thompson (5-year, $208 million), Ausar Thompson (5-year, $155 million), and Keyonte George (5-year, $157.5 million).
The Warriors need Podziemski to build on his strong finish to last season
The young guard caught a lot of flak on social media last season following some of the comments he made in his postgame press conferences, but is ready to let his game do the talking. After a strong finish to his third season in the league — he averaged 18.1 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 3.6 assists while shooting 39.7% from three over his last 22 games — the 23-year-old is looking to build on that momentum.
He mentioned in his media day presser his desire to shoot more threes, draw more fouls, and get to the line at a higher rate, a sentiment that his coach Steve Kerr also echoed — encouraging him to use that final stretch as a baseline. With the injuries to both Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody, along with Kristaps Porzingis' more-than-uncertain situation, Podziemski and rookie Yaxel Lendeborg will have a ton of opportunities to develop as scorers next to Steph Curry and his insane gravity.
Following a strong training camp during which Podziemski was one of the main standouts, he's expected to battle for one of the three remaining open spots in the starting lineup — Curry and Draymond Green are the only locks, Kerr said. His main rival for the position is De'Anthony Melton, who's proved to be a great fit next to Curry due to his ability to play both on and off the ball and his elite point-of-attack defense.
As Podziemski mentioned during training camp, the guard playing next to Steph needs to be able to defend. That was one of the reasons — in addition to the tandem being the greatest shooting backcourt combination of all time — that Klay Thompson and Curry had the success they had. Numbers suggest that Podziemski is a solid defender — the team posted a 110.4 defensive rating with him on the floor last season, which was tied with Melton for the third-lowest mark among players with at least 40 games played — and that he fits with Curry — the duo posted a +5.1 net rating in 601 minutes on the floor together last season. He'll need to prove he can remain consistent offensively, something he struggled to do at times last season.
Despite his slow preseason start against the Clippers in Hawaii — he shot 2-for-10 from the field — Podziemski, like Lendeborg, bounced back against the Lakers on Tuesday, putting up 16 points in 19 minutes on 7-for-11 shooting.
The Warriors will need a lot of similar production if they want to stay afloat until Butler and Moody (and Porzingis) come back at some point during the season. One thing is for sure: this extension is going to be talked about in the Bay Area for various reasons. Podziemski is focused on basketball and proving to those people that he is worth every penny.
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