The Golden State Warriors announced earlier this week that they had officially signed guard Brandin Podziemski to a rookie-scale contract. Podziemski was drafted by the Warriors with the 19th overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft out of Santa Clara and presumably received the standardize contract for a rookie first-round pick. Assuming Podziemski’s contract follows that scale, his deal could pay him just over $16.2 million over the next four seasons. However, only the first two years in the deal are guaranteed.
Podziemski averaged 19.9 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 1.8 steals per game this season at Santa Clara University while showing off one of the best shooting strokes in the nation. Podziemski made 43.8% of his three-point attempts in his final collegiate season and most evaluators expect that skill to carry over to the NBA.
The biggest question facing Podziemski’s future is his below-average size, length, and athleticism by NBA standards. While all three of those limitations will obviously pose challenges for him on the defensive end, it could also prevent him from creating enough space to capitalize on his elite shooting ability.