The Golden State Warriors continue to go all-in on Steph Curry. As the aging guard sticks around–with a likely extension looming–there isn’t much focus placed on the future at the moment.
The Warriors have a talented guard in Brandin Podziemski who could be a core piece for the long-term, but they haven’t shown him that yet with an extension.
While that could change in the near future, Warriors On SI’s Joey Akeley suggests that Golden State should avoid giving Podziemski a notable payday now, dubbing it as the “Jordan Poole mistake.”
Warriors Pressured To Avoid Contract Decision With Painful Reminder
“It ended up being a regrettable choice,” Akeley recalled about the Warriors paying the big bucks to Jordan Poole, who wasn’t truly a face of the future.
Poole was gifted with a $128 million extension from the Warriors, just to be traded shortly after.
The Warriors-focused writer suggested that a salary range of $16-$17 million is reasonable, but anything beyond that right now isn’t justified.
“Committing that money now limits how much cap space the Dubs will have next offseason. They would be better off not signing Stephen Curry or Podz to an extension this offseason to have more options in the next season’s free agency,” Akeley said.
“On top of that, Podz could regress like Poole did and actually lose leverage in contract talks.”
Podziemski is a polarizing player in the NBA. There’s no doubt he’s talented and deserving of a key role with Golden State, or somebody else, but his status as a future star-level player is questionable at the moment.
Brandin Podziemski’s NBA Career So Far
In 2023, the Warriors selected Podziemski with the 19th pick in the NBA Draft out of Santa Clara.
As a rookie, Podziemski averaged 9.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 3.7 assists, while shooting 38.5% from three in 74 games.
During his sophomore effort, Podziemski averaged the same playing time, but remained consistent across the board with his production, including a slight scoring bump to 11.7 points per game.
Then last season, Podziemski was available for all 82 games. He averaged 13.8 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game.
Podziemski is set to make $5.6 million in 2026-2027. He’ll be a restricted free agent in 2027. Signing him now comes with plenty of obvious risk. The Warriors are being encouraged to let the season ride out, unless they know they are getting an early bargain.