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Warriors lock in Brandin Podziemski with five-year, $110 million extension

Golden State agreed to a fully guaranteed rookie-scale extension with a mutual option and trade kicker, keeping the 2023 first-rounder through 2031-32 and starting next season at $18.9 million.

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Chase Center exterior, September 2019. File photo: Dale Cruse / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0. Resized.Chase Center exterior, September 2019. File photo: Dale Cruse / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0. Resized.

SAN FRANCISCO — Oct. 10, 2026 — The Golden State Warriors and guard Brandin Podziemski have agreed to a five-year, $110 million fully guaranteed rookie-scale contract extension, agent Bill Duffy of WME Basketball told ESPN’s Shams Charania. The deal includes a mutual option in the fifth year (2031-32) and a trade kicker.

How the money is structured

Podziemski will finish this season on the last year of his rookie deal at $5.6 million. The extension begins in 2027-28 at $18.9 million, then steps to about $20.4 million, $22 million and $23.5 million before a roughly $25 million mutual option in 2031-32. The mutual option lets either side opt in—but not opt out—of the final season, which can reopen extension talks that summer.

By locking him in now, Golden State avoids restricted free agency next summer. Podziemski’s projected cap hold next year was around $17 million; the $18.9 million first-year salary costs a little more in cash but, combined with other roster moves, still leaves the Warriors with an estimated $55 million to $60 million in potential space, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks.

Why Golden State moved early

Podziemski, 23, was the 19th pick in 2023 and the first draft choice of general manager Mike Dunleavy’s tenure. Last season he averaged a career-high 13.8 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.08 steals in 82 games—one of only 18 NBA players to play every night. The Warriors announced the extension without releasing terms; Dunleavy called him a durable two-way piece whose trajectory is still rising.

Podziemski said the deal showed the organization’s faith in him and that he owes that trust back on the floor. Coach Steve Kerr has described him as a connector who makes teammates better, citing plus-minus and charge-drawing numbers that have ranked among the league’s best at the guard spot since he entered the NBA.

Sources cited by name: Shams Charania and Anthony Slater (ESPN); Bill Duffy (WME); Golden State Warriors; Bobby Marks (ESPN); Steve Kerr.

WhyNBA Sports Desk

The WhyNBA Sports Desk writes basketball explainers and dated news briefs. Official references stay with each guide.

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