On Saturday, Stephen Curry became eligible for a two-year, $136.7 million contract extension, which would be added after the $62.6 million he will make this coming season. Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy has been unequivocal: Golden State wants Curry back at any price. While some fans have wondered if Curry would get a wandering eye and consider chasing a ring elsewhere, Curry told Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area he wants to stay right where he is.
“There’s no question I want to be here the rest of my career, and I’m pretty sure that’s going to happen,” Curry said to NBC Sports Bay Area in an exclusive interview...
“The deal and the contract stuff will happen at the right time, and we’re not letting it be a distraction from our preparation for the season, and the fact that the team we’re coming back with has a lot of familiarity.”
This only echoes what Curry has said all along. He has given no signs he’s looking around.
The timing of the extension is where things get interesting — and could lead to more speculation. If Curry signs the extension before the start of next season, all the chatter goes away.
However, it may be more advantageous for the Warriors next summer if Curry waits. Curry, Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green are all in the final year of their contracts, and they make a combined $147 million this season. Take that off the books and the Warriors have the cap space to chase major free agents. They have more flexibility to make moves and hopefully not strike out like they did this past summer with LeBron James.
Waiting into the season or after it, however, will lead to increasing speculation around the league about whether Curry really is going to stay in the Bay. Even if he has every intention of doing so and keeps saying it, the deeper into the season it goes without his name on a piece of paper, the louder and louder the speculation will get. It would be a distraction for a team already not getting two key contributors — Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody — back from injury until midseason.
Ultimately, Curry is unconcerned about the extension, which means Warriors fans should be, too. People may be looking for drama where there is none.
