In the NBA, restricted free agency can be a tenuous spot for a player. Certainly, the Golden State Warriors are familiar with that, as forward Jonathan Kuminga showed last summer, when he and the team struggled to find a deal in a standoff that went into the beginning days of training camp. Now, the Warriors are undergoing the same process with guard Brandin Podziemski, and hopeful there is a more harmonious and timely resolution than what we saw with Kuminga.
Podziemski is still on his rookie contract, with one year left at $5.7 million. He was the Warriors’ first-round pick, No. 19 overall, in 2023, and has show steady improvement in his time in the NBA–he averaged 13.8 points on 45.5% shooting last season. That was good, but there had been a hope for a bigger leap from Podziemski during the season, one that would have made Golden State’s decision on his future an easier one.
Podziemski has shown he can be a useful player, but he is a 6-foot-4 combo guard who is not a great shooter, nor is a great defender. There’s a cap on what NBA teams would pay for that.
Warriors: Signing Brandin Podziemski ‘Important to Us’
Warriors GM Mike Dunleavy Jr. certainly appears eager to get ahead of any potential major differences in how the team values Podziemski vs. how the player values himself. He expressed hope that the Warriors could come to an agreement quickly.
As he said: “That’s important to us. We really value Brandin. He’s a player that, for all the things that he does well, most importantly he impacts winning. When he’s on the court, we’re a better team. So anytime you’ve got a guy like that, you want to be able to keep him around.
“Obviously we have multiple ways to do it through an extension and restricted free agency and all that, but we prefer to get it done sooner rather than later. We really like Brandin. He’s done a terrific job for us and he’s a big part of our program.”
‘Midlevel’ Money for Brandin Podziemski?
Again, it’s hard to say just how much the Warriors would be willing to pay Podziemski, but one NBA executive told Heavy Sports he expected the number to land in the “midlevel range,” which means a contract starting around $16 million.
There is also the sidebar of the Warriors keeping their powder dry for next offseason. If Golden State plays its cards right, it could have more than $100 million in cap space next summer, though that number will be chipped away at when/if they give Stephen Curry an extension–and if they pay Podziemski.
Warriors Eyeing Cap Space in 2027
It’s not inconceivable that the Warriors could simply tell Podziemski to sit tight through one more season and he can get paid next summer, which would help preserve cap space. Otherwise, the team’s spending power will get knocked downward by the $16 million he might get.
Podziemski would be risking a taking a hit on a major injury in a move like that. But it would increase the Warriors’ flexibility. From the way Dunleavy sounds, that won’t be Golden State’s first choice on courses of action.
Like HEAVY’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
The post Warriors GM Drops Hint on Brandin Podziemski Move appeared first on HEAVY.