Draymond Green Identifies ‘weird' Aspect Of Brandin Podziemski Warriors Contract

Draymond Green identifies ‘weird' aspect of Brandin Podziemski Warriors contract originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Draymond Green always has been one to speak his mind, even about his teammates’ contract terms.

After fourth-year shooting guard Brandin Podziemski signed a five-year, $110 million extension on Oct. 10, Green congratulated his younger teammate on Tuesday’s episode of “The Draymond Green Show,” before commenting on an interesting aspect of Podziemski’s contract.

“I will say about this deal: it has the mutual option in the fifth year, and these mutual options, it’s kind of gotten a little weird,” Green said on his podcast. “We’re starting to see them pop up more and more in the NBA. You used to see the player option or team option, but lately we’ve been seeing these mutual options, … and it is ultimately a structure to where the final year of the deal requires both the player and the team to opt in for the contract to continue.

“Now, obviously, in the other ones, either the player has the option, or the team has the option. This one, they both have to agree. And if either the team or the player declines, the the year is voided. So this is essentially a four-year deal with the mutual option for the fifth year.”

Green noted that Oklahoma City Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein and Miami Heat guard Pelle Larson, who both signed extensions this summer, also included a mutual option in their deals.

The former Defensive Player of the Year also pondered how the second apron could potentially alter a team’s perspective.

“The second apron has affected a lot,” Green said. “I wonder if this is another instance where the second apron is essentially making a team say, ‘Hey, we want the option to be able to get out of this because what if we are up against the second apron and we need a way out? This is an opportunity for us to be able to get out, even if we need to negotiate a lower number to avoid the second apron.’ “

The second apron is a spending threshold that went into effect in the 2024-2025 offseason, and severely curtails an organization’s ability to spend on or sign players through trade and free agency restrictions that are triggered if the monetary barrier is crossed.

The Warriors currently sit in the first apron with a $205 million cap that ranks third in the NBA, according to Spotrac.

Podziemski is set to be paid $5.7 million in the 2026-27 NBA season before his salary jumps to $18.9 million in the first year of his extension.

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