OAKLAND - With Kevin Durant gone, Klay Thompson injured and immense roster turnover, many observers don't see the Warriors as NBA title contenders entering the 2019-20 season.
Stephen Curry, Golden State's oldest and best player, is amused by this notion.
"I just laugh at it," Curry said during his second annual Warriors All-Girls basketball camp in Oakland on Monday afternoon. "Anybody can say anything about anything nowadays and it can pick up steam. So we've had lots of support. We've had a lot of criticism on the way that doesn't change now. Just what they're saying is different so doesn't change how we go about our business."
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Curry's optimism comes as his team has undergone a summer of transition. Aside from the team's move to San Francisco, the roster now has eight new faces, including All-Star guard D'Angelo Russell, was acquired in a sign-and-trade for Durant last month. In recent weeks, Curry and the young guard have been working out around the Bay Area with Curry's trainer Brandon Payne, a practice the two-time MCP believes will help during the season.
New roster changes means Golden State will enter the season without trusted pieces. In the wake of the Durant sign-and-trade, Andre Iguodala was traded to the Memphis Grizzlies to free up cap space. Additionally, Jordan Bell and Quinn Cook signed with other teams, while veteran guard Shaun Livingston was waived for more salary cap relief. Now, with eight new additions, including big man Willie Cauley Stein, Curry still believes the new team can coexist.
"It's just a matter of really trying to get guys comfortable with the system, be able to highlight the different skill sets that we have and different strengths and the chemistry," Curry said. "It will take a little bit of time and a lot of hard work, but like I said, we have a lot of high IQ guys from our core and a lot of leadership and commitment to what we do, so starting in the training camp and beyond, you have to have a mindset that you will continue to get better as the season goes on."
As Curry navigates the change around the organization, his commitment to the advancement of women remains constant. Last year, he wrote an op-ed in the Player's Tribune pushing for equal pay for women. Five months ago, after nine-year-old Riley Morrison pointed out that Curry's Under Armour shoe line didn't include women's sizing, the Warriors point guard released a women's only colorway of his Curry 6 with the phrases “Be Fearless,” “Girl Power,” “Girls Hoop Too” and “Rock The Currys," inscribed in the sock liners. On Monday, Curry enlisted a five-woman panel that included broadcaster and Hall of Famer Nancy Lieberman to speak to the crowd of young girls clad in Curry "30" jerseys.
Golden State Warriors
"There's a lot of people kind of speaking on the topic and speaking on the women's game and doing amazing work in terms of creating awareness, trying to get things changed and creating experiences like this camp." Curry said. "So I'm not alone in that fight. But in terms of just giving these girls between eight and 15,16 years old, a vision of who they can be in life, what they can accomplish in the world of sports."
Monday's camp makred one of the last events in Golden State's downtown Oakland facility. In the next two weeks, staffers will move out of their cubicles and into Chase Center as part of the organization's move to San Francisco.
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That's something Curry is still adjusting to.
"It's still always bittersweet for sure," Curry said. "Cause I guess I've spent 10 years here. I remember my first training camp with Don Nelson and Kelenna Azubuike and the whole roster and 10 years later for guys that have come through this organization ... It's just weird and different but exciting for sure."