The Golden State Warriors only have one year left on Stephen Curry’s contract to make his future a relevant topic. Curry has surprisingly not signed an extension yet, despite most NBA pundits expecting him to stay and retire with the franchise that drafted him. ESPN insider Brian Windhorst shared multiple variables about the Warriors and Curry’s futures.
The following quote from Windhorst on NBA Today went all in on the situation:
“If Steph Curry doesn’t extend – and he’s now weeks off his extension window – he could still extend. Just because he hasn’t doesn’t mean he won’t. He can extend at any time during the season. Typically, this is something you’d want to get settled before the year starts, though. If Steph does not extend, they have potentially $100 million in cap space.”
Windhorst cited that teams would rather settle on an agreement before the season to avoid any chances of them leaving. Curry seems to want to keep his options open, which could both help or hurt the Warriors franchise. One huge factor is Curry likely wanting to see what he gets from injured players Jimmy Butler and Kristaps Porzingis as his two most talented teammates.
Worst Case Steph Curry Scenario For Warriors
The worst outcome for Golden State would clearly be if Curry left Golden State for another team. Peers like LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and James Harden have hopped from team to team looking for their best chances of winning an NBA Championship. Curry could do this in the final years of his career if he grows frustrated.
No one on the active Warriors roster is anywhere near a good bet to make the All-Star team outside of Curry. Rookie Yaxel Lendeborg having a good season could give Curry more faith in the franchise, but any struggles would hurt the goal of adding a young cheap talent from the draft.
To his credit, Curry has talked consistently about wanting to stay in Golden State and end his career with the Warriors. Things would truly have to spiral out of control for Curry to look at other NBA teams in free agency next summer.
Best Case Steph Curry Scenario For Warriors
Windhorst also referenced that Golden State will have $100 million in cap space next summer if they don’t extend Curry. Both Butler and Draymond Green are also free agents after this season to see the chances of huge turnover.
Curry could be waiting until the offseason to give the team cap flexibility to make moves. Stars like Jalen Brunson and Victor Wembanyama taking pay cuts to improve their title chances in recent years could see Curry doing the same to improve the team for his final years in the league.
The best-case scenario would see the Warriors spending big money on new stars and then extend Curry once that’s over. Curry has so many sponsorship deals and is deep into his NBA career to risk losing out on some money. Mike Dunleavy would have to sign or trade for true superstars next offseason for Curry to take a discount contract figure.
Steph Curry Warriors Future Becomes Uncertain With New Update