Is the Warriors management abandoning Steph Curry?

Entering the offseason, the Golden State Warriors’ front office saw the need for a more established secondary scorer alongside Stephen Curry as a high priority, according to team sources. The Warriors had Paul George and Lauri Markkanen at the top of a select wish list of realistically available and attractive players and were pursuing both, in that order. They were willing to sacrifice some of their first-round draft capital and a piece of their youth movement.

For various reasons, they didn’t make a deal for either. The LA Clippers shut them out of the George conversation. The Utah Jazz asked for every available pick and pick trade in the closet, plus several young players, for Markkanen. The Warriors weren’t willing to sell the entire unprotected boot.

Perhaps Brandin Podziemski or the exact number of firsts would ultimately have been the deciding factor in deeper Markkanen negotiations, setting off an internal debate. But it never reached that stage, team sources said. Markkanen signed an extension in Utah, and multiple sources from multiple teams investigating said that, in retrospect, they believe that was the Jazz’s intended outcome all along. Markkanen’s actual availability was a mirage.

But reasons are far less important than results. In that regard, the Warriors failed to address their biggest weakness on the roster. Not only did they fail to bring in an established, veteran scorer, they also indirectly motivated their second-leading scorer from last season, Klay Thompson, to leave the franchise by channeling his departure into the sign-and-trade and free-agent additions of Kyle Anderson, Buddy Hield and De’Anthony Melton.

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That glaring deficiency — a roster loaded with mid-tier depth but lacking enough top scorers to ease Curry’s workload and bring the Warriors back to the brink of title contention — came under an even harsher microscope last weekend, when Curry, at 36, spectacularly fired Team USA to a gold medal in Paris, reinforcing his ability to still rise above the biggest stage if given the opportunity.

Steve Kerr was the coach of that team. Mike Dunleavy was there. Draymond Green roared from the center of the stands. Joe Lacob and Kirk Lacob watched from a distance. The Warriors’ key stakeholders understand Curry’s enduring greatness and, team sources said, there’s an internal understanding that his current supporting cast can’t be considered a finished product if the 2025 NBA championship is a viable goal.

Curry was involved in George’s recruitment. Dunleavy is keeping him informed about options and final personnel decisions. Curry, according to team sources, has shown no signs of panic or unease. But there is a choice between action or inaction in the coming months that will provide a clearer hint about his long-term mindset.

Curry is eligible for an extension on his one-year, $62.6 million contract, which has two seasons and $115.3 million remaining. He flew back from Paris a few days ago and plans to be away from basketball for a few weeks, so contract talks aren’t expected to happen in the near future, league sources said. It will be entirely on Curry’s preferred timeline. The extension deadline is Oct. 21.

From the Warriors’ side, it’s not nearly as complicated as their more recent (Jordan Poole, Andrew Wiggins, Green, Thompson) or future (Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody) extensions. If Curry wants to add that extra year anywhere up to that $62.6 million cap hit, the Warriors would be willing to do so. It’s a position they’ve maintained both privately and publicly.

Steph Curry is eligible for an extra year of eligibility this summer. Mike Dunleavy: “That guy, whatever he wants… I have every confidence that he’s going to be a Warrior for life.”

Dunleavy also said the intention is to extend Kuminga/Moody photo.twitter.com/xjpglfz0qu

—Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) July 12, 2024

The upside for Curry is clear: an extra season of certainty. He’ll turn 37 before he’s eligible for an extension again — for up to two more years next offseason. There’s always the risk that situations change and an offer on the table in October might not necessarily be there the following August. He has two months to decide whether to commit $62.6 million to his 38th season.

But there is flexibility and leverage in waiting. As this upcoming season plays out, Curry and the basketball world at large will learn more about the Warriors’ direction and the legitimacy of their quest to reopen the title window while Curry still clings to his late prime. Will the younger players develop quickly? Will Wiggins rebound? Will Green remain out of the league’s sights? Will the front office be able to pull off a significant in-season trade with the draft assets still in its pocket?

It’s easier to apply pressure — even in Curry’s quiet way — with one season left on a contract than two. So Curry’s choice whether to commit to an extra year of team control before the October deadline is a striking signal of which way the wind might blow.

The Warriors believe they’ve improved this summer, team sources insisted, basing that in part on internal numerical models that gave the additions of Melton, Anderson and Hield a thumbs-up. A few analytics-driven employees around the league agree. One rival’s metric model had Golden State in fourth place in the conference. The Warriors’ 46 wins a season ago amid turbulence were just five behind the fifth-place finisher (Clippers, 51 wins).

But there are rational reasons to doubt it. Curry played 74 games last season, his most since 2016-17. Can he repeat that? Green missed 27. Can he avoid that? Then, even if everything goes well — the junior tier of the roster surges and the depth shines in the regular season for a solid playoff seed — the ultimate flaw they tried and failed to fix (acquiring another 24ish-point-per-game scorer) still bites them in the playoffs? If a second star hits the trade market, will they pay a hefty price and finally make a meaningful deal?

Curry’s decision on a one-year extension is more important than those answers, but it could provide some indication of how optimistic he is that contracts will move the Warriors’ way.

(Photo: Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images)