Stephen Curry, already the highest-paid player in the NBA next season, agreed to a one-year extension of his contract at a whopping $62.6 million that keeps him with the Warriors through 2027, when he will be 39.
His contract now lines up with Draymond Green’s, giving these Warriors a “beginning of the end” vibe — which Curry wants no part of. He wants to win again in Golden State. The extension is a vote of confidence in the Warriors front office — the one that sign-and-traded Klay Thompson to Dallas this offseason — and a reminder he wants to finish his career in the Bay Area. However, it’s winning he wants most of all, he told Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic.
“It’s not different from my perspective,” Curry told The Athletic. “You have an appreciation for the position and the opportunity and the support from people who’ve been with you on the journey. I’ve always said I wanted to play for one team my whole career. So it’s good to get (the extension) question out of the way and give complete focus to basketball and to the season...
“It’s still about winning,” Curry said, “and taking the steps necessary to give ourselves a chance. The standard hasn’t changed. The expectation hasn’t changed.”
Curry is ultimately saying I may have extended, but that doesn’t take the pressure off Mike Dunlevey Jr. and the front office to make this roster a winner.
Winning with these Warriors is not going to be easy. The Warriors finished 10th in the West last season with 46 wins. While I would argue they got a little better this offseason — replacing Thompson with DeAnthony Melton and Buddy Hield, plus adding Kyle Anderson — they are not threatening Oklahoma City, Dallas, Minnesota and Denver at the top of the conference. The bigger issue is the teams the Warriors are chasing, particularly the Thunder, are younger and improving.
To win at the highest levels, the Warriors ultimately need to make a bold stroke move to put another high-level shot creator next to Curry (and no, it’s not going to be LeBron James, he just extended in Los Angeles for a reason). The Warriors have first-round draft picks, good young players (Jonathan Kuminga and Brandin Podziemski, if it’s the right deal) and matching salary (Andrew Wiggins) to make a big trade, but it will have to be one that works for them. So far, that player and trade has not happened.
Which means all those people mentioned as potential trade pieces have to step up for the Warriors to win more this season. Draymond Green has to stay on the court, Wiggins has to consistently get back to the 2022 version of himself, and the youth movement of Kuminga and Podziemski have to take a step forward. The Warriors don’t have much margin for error, but a top-six finish is possible if everything breaks their way.
That may not be the winning Curry is dreaming of, but it’s a start. Just know the fire is still there with Curry, something he showed during the Paris Olympics.
