Steph Curry Opens Up on Warriors Offseason, Future with Team

The departure of Klay Thompson signaled the end of an era for the Golden State Warriors. At age 36, and still firmly at the top of the game, will Steph Curry follow suit?

In an exclusive interview with Marc J. Spears of Andscape, the future Hall of Famer was asked if he’d be okay with playing out his days on the Warriors, even if it meant not winning another title.

“I’ve always said I want to be a Warrior for life,” Curry told Spears on July 24. “At this stage in my career, I feel like that’s possible. And you can still be a competitive, it doesn’t mean you guaranteed the championship. It doesn’t mean winning. Winning is always a priority, but obviously you’re realistic. It doesn’t mean that it’s going to happen if you stay the course. You need to shake things up and keep reimagining what it looks like to evolve with what league is at right now, with where some of these talented teams are now.”

Golden State countered the loss of Thompson with three veteran signings: Kyle Anderson, Buddy Hield, and De’Anthony Melton. And the Warriors have been actively searching for other upgrades on the trade market, including Lauri Markkanen of the Utah Jazz.

There’s pressure on the front office to make a convincing run at a title this season. Curry doesn’t have many prime years left. His personal championship window is closing.

Curry is coming off of his 15th NBA campaign. He averaged 26.4 points, 5.1 assists, and 4.5 rebounds in 74 regular-season appearances with Golden State last year.

Curry On Thompson’s Exit: ‘It’s Still Weird’

Next season will mark the first since 2011-2012 that Curry is playing without Thompson. He told Spears he’s still working on accepting the reality of free agency.

“It’s still weird, man,” Curry said. “I really haven’t figured out the emotions yet just because it’s one of those pieces that really won’t sink in until you get into October and you go to the locker room and you’re in your familiar sights and sounds of the Chase Center.”

And while he holds no ill will, Curry acknowledged that he wishes things had turned out different for Thompson and the Warriors.

“All things have to come to an end at some point,” Curry continued. “I wish it would’ve turned out differently. I wish we could have rode into the sunset, all three of us [Curry, Draymond Greenand Thompson] as Warriors for our whole career…What we were able to do for how long we were able to do it and together, it’s special and it speaks to how hard it is to do that. So, I’m going to choose to celebrate all the things we accomplished and all the experiences we had instead of feeling any type of resentment or getting pissed off about it.”

Curry, Green, and Thompson will go down in the NBA history books as one of the greatest, if not the greatest, trios of all time. But another season is fast approaching, and the show must go on.

As of July 24, it’s unclear who will take Thompson’s place of 11 years as Curry’s backcourt mate. Brandon Podziemski, after a stellar rookie season, seems the odds-on favorite.

In 1,280 possessions with Curry and Podziemski on the floor last season — and Thompson off — Golden State outscored opponents by 14.5 points per 100 possessions, according to Cleaning the Glass.

Curry Optimistic On Warriors’ Offseason Additions

Barring a blockbuster addition like Markkanen, Golden State’s done building out their 2024-2025 roster. Curry told Spears he’s optimistic about the new additions, and the team’s initial outlook.

“I know we have some brought in some vets in De’Anthony [Melton], Kyle [Anderson] and Buddy [Hield],” Curry said. “It’ll look different. You have to make the necessary adjustments and evolve how we play to maximize the team that we have. I have an optimistic attitude that it’s going to work and that we are going to be a competitor, be in the mix until proven otherwise. That’s the only way I can think right now.”

Anderson is a do-it-all veteran forward coming off of his best NBA campaign to date. He played 22.6 minutes per game on a 56-26 Minnesota Timberwolves team, averaging 6.4 points, 4.2 assists, and 3.5 rebounds.

Melton is a versatile defensive guard coming off of an injury trodden season with the Philadelphia 76ers. He played just 38 games, but averaged 11.1 points, 3.7 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.6 steals.

Then there’s Hield, who’s often mentioned in conversations with Curry as one of the best shooters of all time. The 31-year-old guard averaged 12.1 points last season, including 38% shooting on 6.8 three-point attempts per game.

Curry and the Warriors will look to rebound off of a disappointing 46-36 season with this newly assembled roster. The rest of the NBA will be watching closely to see what happens if they don’t.